Haley Cox

Vocal Coaching Paper #2

Dr. Christopher Lovely

Vocal Coaching M 12:30-1

Coaching Paper 2

“Je dis que ne rien m’epouvante” from Carmen

Georges Bizet (1838-1875) was a notorious French composer in the Romantic period and

is best remembered for his final work, Carmen.1 Bizet’s life was cut short by his early death

(heart attack), and though his career was industrious, he left behind no school or disciples.2 He

was not particularly well-known throughout his life for his compositions, however he did win the

Prix de Rome in 1857 for his career in the Conservatoire de Paris as a successful student pianist.3

Despite his talent and the recognition he gained for his playing, he rarely performed, instead

making a living transcribing and arranging other’s music.4

The other two operas that premiered during his life, Les pêcheurs de perles and La jolie

fille de Perth were not successes initially. Carmen was the final piece he composed, the opera

premiered on March 3, 1875, just three months before his fatal heart attack. The opera was

1
Winton Dean, "Bizet, Georges (Alexandre César Léopold)," In New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, ed.
Stanley Sadie, (London: Macmillan, 1980).
2
Dean, 1980.
3
Dean, 1980.
4
Dean, 1980.
finished earlier, however the premiere was pushed back because of the fear that it would offend

the French public because of its themes of murder and back-stabbing.

Dean, Winton (1980). "Bizet, Georges (Alexandre César Léopold)". In Sadie, Stanley (ed.). New
Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians. 2. London: Macmillan.