The life of Georges Bizet

Born in Paris on October 25, 1838 by the

name of Alexander-Cesar Leopold

Was born to a Singing-master for a father

(Adolph-Armand Bizet), and a pianist of a
mother (Aimée Delsarte).

Was considered a musical prodigy, and was

admitted to the Paris Conservatoire before he
was of age due to his abilities to distinguish
the degrees of a scale without flaw.
 Early Accomplishments
 At the conservatoire, Bizet won a Premiere Prix once
in 1849, then again in 1852 in addition to winning the
second Prix in 1851 in Piano.

 Bizet also won second Prix for organ and fugue in in

1855, winning the premier prix for these the next year
as well.

 Bizet went on to win the Prix de Rome in 1857 which

led to his studies at the conservatoire being “capped”
due to Bizet obtaining enough money to subsist on for
three years while he pursued his music.
 Bizet’s Influences

 Georges Bizet took to his composition teacher at the

conservatoire, Fromental Halevy, who along with
teaching had a career in other musical areas such as
opera and opera comique stagings.
 Francois DelSarte (Bizet’s Uncle) was a singing
teacher (of apparently greater popularity than Bizet’s
father) and had a great influence on Georges.
 Another person of great influence in Bizet’s life was
Charles Gounod
 Gounod was a teacher figure to Bizet, acting in
place of the ailing Zimmerman.
 Bizet said to Gounod years after his lessons at
the Conservatoire
“You were the beginning of my life as an artist.
I spring from you.”
 Years in Rome
 Bizet spent nearly 3 years in Rome,
straying from the music of his home at that
time.
 It was in Rome that Bizet picked up the
terrible habit of starting a new composition
or opera of some kind, only to abandon
the effort shortly thereafter.
 it is said that Georges was frustrated with
what he deemed a lack of notable music
to be found in Rome.
 Rome Cont’d
 While Bizet loved the landscape in Italy
and the South of France, and especially
the people residing in the Italian
countryside , at this time Napoleon III had
his hand in Italian affairs to the point of
making the presence of Frenchman in Italy
a politically awkward situation.
 Only four out of very few pieces Bizet did
during his time in Rome have survived up
to the present time.

 Three of these titles were Don Procopio,

Les pecheurs de perles, and La jolie fille
de perth.

 Another habit Bizet picked up at this time

was that of using old works and
compositions in his new pieces.
 Back in France
 Bizet left Rome at the end of nearly three years,
learning that his mother was terribly ill.
 She dies in September of 1861
 The year following her death saw a scandal
involving the birth of a son, Jean, to the Bizet
family maid, Marie Reiter.
 In March of 1862 Bizet’s mentor from the
Conservatoire, Fromental Helevy died and
affected Bizet greatly.
 For sometime Bizet had been seen as
such a notable pianist that he was able to
make a living by accompanying vocal
performers or by doing arrangements and
transcriptions for other artists.
 He hated this, saying once “Be assured
that it is aggravating to interrupt my
cherished work for two days to write solos
for the cornet-a-pistons. One must live.”
 Bizet in Love
 Bizet was in love by 1867 with his deceased
mentor Halevy’s daughter, Genevieve.
 Her mother’s family disapproved of her marrying
an unsuccessful composer.
 The engagement was called off due to
opposition from Genevieve’s family.
 They finally married in June of 1869 in a civil
ceremony due to Bizet’s distaste for organized
religion.
 Bizet in War
 The outbreak of the Franco-Russian war in 1870
had Bizet enlisting in the National Guard,
supporting the idea of the Third Republic
enthusiastically.
 The Armistice in January of 1871 allowed Bizet
and Genevieve to visit her mother, who was
borderline insane, which led to the discovery that
genetics had not been kind to Genevieve, as she
was also prone to hysterics.
 A downward Spiral
 Bizet’s marriage was suffering during this
time, despite the birth of their son Jacques
in 1872, and was thought to never regain
it’s early luster.
 Genevieve needed constant care for her
unstable mental situation.
 They were separated for a period of two
months
 Bizet’s Greatest Triumph???
 Bizet suggested taking Carmen, a novel by
Merimee, and making it an opera.
 At the time this was happening, Parisian theatre,
music and opera were being geared toward
families and morals.
 Bizet’s Carmen had the effect of creating
elements of Spanish style music, even though he
never actually set foot in Spain.

 There were repeated postponements and hold

ups in producing Carmen.
 The first performance was given on March 3 of
1875.
 Final Months
 Carmen ran for 45 showings, despite harsh criticisms for
going against family ideals and for having a graphic
death scene.
 The criticism it received so saddened Bizet that his
health began to slip, and less than three months after
Carmen’s debut, he suffered a flair of Rheumatism and
two heart attacks, dying at the age of 36 the night of the
33rd performance of Carmen.
 Ironically, Carmen was brought to Parisian stages five
years later as a great success and is to this day one of
the most popular Operas going!
 Of Bizet’s death, Saint-Saens said he was “Loyal and
sincere, he never hid either his friendships or
antipathies…”
 Resources
 "Composers: Georges Bizet." Essentials of Music.
2001. SONY music Entertainment. 7 Mar 2009
<http://www.essentialsofmusic.com/compose
r/bizet.html>.

 Wagner, Paul. "Life of Georges Bizet." Music

With Ease. 2009. Music with Ease. 9 Mar 2009
<http://www.musicwithease.com/bizet-life.html>.

 MacDonald, Hugh. "Bizet, Georges (Alexandre-César-

Léopold)." Oxford Music Online. 2009. Oxford
university Press. 9 Mar 2009
<http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/articl
e/grove/music/51829?q=Georges+Bizet&search=qui
ck&pos=1&_start=1#firsthit>.