Toreador song (instrumental) by Georges Bizet from his final work, Carmen - HD - YouTube Toreador song (instrumental) by Georges Bizet from his final work, Carmen - HD Want to watch this again later? Sign in to add this video to a playlist. Need to report the video? Sign in to report inappropriate content. Rating is available when the video has been rented. This feature is not available right now. Please try again later. Published on Jan 23, 2014 Georges Bizet (25 October 1838 -- 3 June 1875), registered at birth as Alexandre César Léopold Bizet, was a French composer of the romantic era. Best known for his operas in a career cut short by his early death, Bizet achieved few successes before his final work, Carmen, which has become one of the most popular and frequently performed works in the entire opera repertory. The Toreador Song (Votre toast, je peux vous le rendre) is one of the most famous arias from the opera Carmen, composed by Georges Bizet to a libretto by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy.

It is sung by the bullfighter Escamillo as he enters in Act 2 (toréador is reference to "bullfighter"; although the actual correct term is torero, Bizet took some poetic license and "invented" a four-syllable word which he needed in order to match the musical motif), and describes various situations in the bullring, the cheering of the crowds and the fame that comes with victory. Elements of Toréador re-appear later in Carmen: of note Toréador, en garde, which follows shortly after Votre toast... in Act 2. ----------------------------------------­­----------- Carmen, opera | Details | AllMusic AllMusic google+ Description by Rovi Staff The reception history of Georges Bizet 's final dramatic work, Carmen, is rife with ironies. Although almost unanimously condemned by Parisian critics after its first performances in 1875 for its overt sexuality and graphic final scene, Carmen intrigued a number of sophisticated minds and ultimately reached the public in a way that perhaps no other opera has. Bizet 's aim in composing Carmen had been to transform the flaccid, moralistic bourgeois genre of opéra comique into a more sophisticated type of staged work.

With a libretto by Ludovic Halévy and Henri Meilhac , Carmen survives in no single authoritative version despite its enormous popularity and influence. Guiraud converted the original sections of spoken dialogue into recitative for the 1875 Vienna performances. In recent years the original version has made a striking comeback, and one can argue that it is far more telling dramatically than the traditional version with the recitatives. There is also a popular orchestral suite drawn from the opera, and several violin and piano fantasies on its themes also exist. Carmen is cornerstone item in any opera collection. It is ironic that Bizet composed one of music's most evocative landscapes of Spain without ever having been there. Bizet based his opéra comique on Prosper Mérimée 's story, Carmen, which had appeared in October 1845. Librettists Halévy and Meilhac emphasized the exotic characters of Mérimée's story and retained the themes of social class distinctions, overt sexuality, and misogyny that emerge so forcefully in Mérimée's model.

Bizet gave musical expression to the libretto using recurring motives, a distinctive melodic style, and manipulations of genre conventions to give each character a musical significance and a unique expressive idiom. The opera's prelude introduces some of the most important themes, including Escamillo's toreador music and an exotic and sinewy chromatic motive that permeates the opera as a musical symbol for both Carmen's character and the insurmountable power of fate. The gypsy fortune-teller Carmen sings in dance numbers, such as the habanera ("L'amour est un oiseau rebelle") and the seguidilla ("Près des ramparts de Seville") of Act One, and the Gypsy song ("Les tringles des sisters tintaient") of Act Two. Traversing boundaries of diatonic harmony, the sultry chromaticism of Carmen's habanera theme underscores her status as both ethnic outsider and sexually adventuresome female. In this she stands in sharp contrast to Micaëla, whose Act Three aria ("Je sais que rien ne m'épouvante") is set in the ternary form of the elevated bel canto French grand opera aria.

The bullfighter Escamillo announces his trade and masculine prowess in the rollicking Act Two toreador song ("Toréador, en garde!"), which carries the musical suggestion of battle in its fanfare opening and insistent march rhythm. Don José's musical styles reflect different levels in his descent from dutiful soldier to the underworld of obsession. In Act One, Don José sings in a duet with Micaëla ("Ma mère, je la vois"), adopting her elevated lyrical vocal style. In Act Two, after his imprisonment, Don José sings a more popular march-like tune ("Halte-là! Qui va là? Dragon d'Alcala"), reflecting his lower social status. His angst-ridden wailings in the opera's final scene defy clear formal arrangement and convey the psychological turmoil of an obsessed and defeated individual. Thus did Bizet forge a work that both summed up the musical resources available to him and had enough color and sheer melodic attractiveness to insinuate itself permanently into the public mind. Carmen, indeed, has been the subject of several popular-music adaptations over the years. Parts/Movements No. 2, Sur la place, chacun passe No.

3, Avec la garde montante No. 4a, La Cloche a sonne, nous des ouvrieres No. 4b, La voila! Voila la Carmencita! No. 5, L'amour est un oiseau rebelle [Habanera] No. 6, Carmen! sur tes pas nous nous pressons tous No. 7, Parle-moi de ma mère! No. 8, Au secours! No. 10a, Près des remparts de Séville [Seguidilla] No. 10b, Voice l'orde No. 11a, Entr'acte [Les Dragons d'Alcala] No. 11b, Les tringles des sistres tintaient [Gypsy Song] No. 11c, Danse bohème No. 11d, Vous avez quelque chose No. 12a, Vivat, vivat le toréro! No. 12b, Votre toast je peux vous le rendre [Toreador's Song] No. 13, Nous avons en tete une affaire! No. 14, Halte-là! Qui va là? No.

15a, Je vais danser en votre honneur No. 15b, Au quartier! pour l'appel No. 15c, La fleur que tu ma'vais jetée [Flower Song] No. 15d, Non! tu ne ma'aimes pas! No. 16, Holà! Carmen! No. 17b, Écoute, compagnon, écoute [March of the Smugglers] No. 17c, Notre métier est bon No. 18a, Mêlons! Coupons! [Card Scene] No. 18b, Voyons, que j'essaie à mon tour No. 18c, En vain, pour éviter les réponses amères No. 19, Quant au douanier c'est notre affaire No. 20, Je dis que rien ne m'épouvante [Nocturne] No. 21, Je suis Escamillo No. 22a, Entr'acte [Aragonaise] No. 22b, À deux cuartos! No.

23, Les voici, voici la quadrille [March of the Toreadors] No. 24, Si tu m'aimes, Carmen No. 25, C'est toi! The Metropolitan Opera Guild The Metropolitan Opera Guild The Basics: Introducing Your Students to Opera Introducing Your Students to Opera What is an Orchestra? · Brainstorm with your students about what an orchestra is. · Make a semantic map: put suggested words around the board as the students brainstorm. · Have students justify their ideas. · Discuss the instruments and classification of instruments in the orchestra. · Introduce how the orchestra is arranged, using a diagram for illustration. · Using words in the semantic map, have students write a composition on what an orchestra is. What is Opera? · Brainstorm with your students about what an opera is. What stereotypes have they heard? · Discuss how opera singers' voices are not amplified and how singers must project. · Introduce the voice parts and operatic singing. · Make a chart of the voice parts from high to low. · Play examples of different voices and have students brainstorm on the character's personality. · Discuss typical roles of different voice parts. (ie.

Soprano is often the heroine, Bass is often evil.) · With the class, choose a current movie or tv show and assign each character a voice part. Introducing a Specific Opera · Start by introducing the characters of the opera and their voices. · Tell a little bit about the story through the characters. · Ask students for adjectives to describe the characters. · Using their adjectives, ask students to write character analyses. · Using character analyses, have students write their own story before learning the full synopsis. · Use the students' stories to then introduce the full synopsis. · Ask students to draw a picture of the opera's setting as it is described in the libretto. · Have students read the libretto aloud as play. Stop periodically to review what has happened. · As you progress through the libretto, listen to the music from different sections of the opera. · Point out how the music highlights the drama. · How does the music convey characters' emotions? · Play each character's introductory aria. Does it match their character analyses? · Have students draw a picture of their favorite character in appropriate costume. · Have students draw a picture of their favorite scene. · After studying each act, ask students to predict what will happen next.

· Before teaching them the end of the story, ask students to write their own endings. Additional Ideas · After each class, have students summarize the story covered that day. · Have students research the composer and librettist. · Have students research the time of the opera (ie., ancient egypt, gypsies, Paris, etc.). Teaching Materials Using Carmen to Teach Music HOW TO USE THIS STUDY GUIDE Recurring Motifs: The most important recurring motif in Carmen is the "Fate" motif first introduced in the Prelude. This occurs in the coda of the Prelude. It is a 5-note phrase with an exotic interval of an augmented 2nd punctuated with 2 deep thuds. (See example #1). This motif will be repeated in various permutations at crucial moments in the opera. This motif repeats again in the following places:"Habanera" - Before Carmen's aria begins, the music which introduces her uses a diminution of the "fate" melody. (See Example #2).

At the end of the aria, as Carmen stares at Don Jose, the soldier she has had her eye on all along, the "fate" motif appears most prominently in the cellos under tremolo upper strings to set destiny in motion. (See Example #3) In Act II, when Don Jose tries to prove that he still loves Carmen, to the accompaniment of the "fate" motif in the oboe, he takes out the flower that she threw him in Act I. In Act III, just before it is Carmen's turn to deal her ill-fated deck of cards, the "fate" motif is played in diminution to set up her aria which foretells her impending doom. At the end of Act III, Don Jose must take leave of Carmen to go to his dying mother. He knows by now that Carmen has another lover in Escamillo.

The "fate" motif peels out in full force by the French horns just as Escamillo goes off singing a reprise of his "Toreador Song." In the final scene, the "fate" melody is played fortissimo 6 times by the full orchestra to hammer home with finality what began as a coda in the opening Prelude. Another recurring motif is the very opening of the Prelude to Act I which represents the procession of the bullfighters and occurs again in Act IV when the bullfighters enter. (See Example #4). Another recurring motif is the main theme of the "Toreador Song." It is heard first as Theme C of the Prelude. It comes back most prominently in Escamillo's aria in Act II, as an ironic twist at the end of Act III when Escamillo invites Carmen to see him in his next bullfight, and recurs in Act IV at his entrance just before the bullfight. (See Example #5). In the 2 scenes with Micaela, the girl from back home, whenever there is a reference to Don Jose's mother, there is an expressive, rising, stepwise, legato melody. (See Example #6).

This first occurs in Act I when Micaela comes looking for Don Jose and recurs in Act III when she tells him that his mother is dying. Use of Rhythm: "Habanera" - Bizet's use of rhythm, particularly Spanish rhythms, is very important in Carmen. One of the first important places where this occurs is in Carmen's opening aria, known as "Habanera." This is a case where the music itself is so famous and catchy that it can be its own motivation. Play the opening rhythm (it occurs 4 times). It is a 4-note tango rhythm, with the 2nd note shorter than the others (see Example #7). The melody is a snake-like, slivering, descending chromatic melody which shows Carmen's seductive and sultry nature. She can have any soldier she wants. But she is free as a bird and will choose the man who least notices her. After Carmen sings the opening melody, the soldiers repeat her melody while she seductively interposes "L'amour" 3 times. The main theme is a descending melody in the key of D Minor while the 2nd part of her aria is basically ascending in the parallel key of D Major.

The soldiers punctuate her melody with "Prends garde a toi" (You'd better be on guard") to the exact 4-note tango rhythm mentioned above. This entire process is repeated for a second verse. (see Example #8) "Seguidilla" - This is the scene introduced in the opening motivation. Carmen has been arrested and Don Jose has been assigned to guard her. By promising to meet him, drink with him and dance with him at the inn of Lillas Pastia, she seduces Don Jose into letting her go includes the characteristic Seguidilla rhythm and the main melody (see examples #9 and #10). Just like the "Habanera" rhythm had a characteristic rhythm, so too does the "Seguidilla." In the "Habanera's meter of 2, there were 4 notes, with the 2nd note shorter than the others and close to the 3rd note. So too the "Seguidilla" rhythm has 4 notes (although in a meter of 3) with the 2nd note close to the 3rd. The 3rd and 4th notes of the rhythmic motif are the same.

When heard as the accompaniment in the strings, it sounds like a Spanish guitar from southern Spain from where the Seguidilla dance originated (see example #9). Example 10 "Toreador Song"- There are 2 main melodies in this number: the first melody, in F minor, with its characteristic accompanying Spanish rhythm (see example #11) describes the bullfight, and the second melody (see example #5) is the march-like "Toreador" refrain, heard earlier in the Prelude which hints of the girl that is waiting for him after the bullfight is over. The gypsies, along with Carmen, Frasquita and Mercedes repeat this "Toreador" refrain. There is then a second stanza in the same manner as the first except that at the end, Carmen's 2 gypsy friends then Carmen flirt with Escamillo on the words "L'amour." "Song of the Castanets" - This excerpt includes Carmen singing a "la, la, la," rhythm to the accompaniment of castinets while trumpets are playing a bugle call in the background as a countermelody.

This represents Don Jose's dilemma: should he stay with Carmen or go back to barracks? This is a perfect example of how counterpoint in the music directly reflects counterpoint (or conflict) in the drama. (See example #12.) Teaching Materials Opening Motivation Bring in some string or cord and loosely tie up the hands of a girl in class saying she did something terribly wrong and has to be sent to the principal's (dean's) office for punishment. Ask a guy to escort her. Ask the girl what she could say or do to get him to release her. Have them engage in a creative dialogue and see where it leads. Have a 2nd and 3rd pair of students try it as well. (This is the turning point in Act I where Carmen pursuades to let Don Jose release her as she sings the "Seguidilla" promising to meet him at the inn of Lillas Pastia.) Additional Motivations: "Prelude" - Motivation - Since the Prelude is in rondo form (ABACA), set up 3 different colored blocks, 1 for each of the main melodies. Reserve a black block for the coda.

Theme A - Represents the procession of the bullfighters Theme B - Transitional theme Theme C - Represents the hero, Escamillo, later to be heard as the "Toreador Song" Coda - "Fate" motif, a germinal motif which occurs throughout the opera and which will be illustrated later. "Toreador Song" - Motivation - Ask the class to picture the following scene: They are hanging around the corner store with a few of their friends when the most famous athelete in (name a sport) shows up. How would they react? You might include names like Shaquille O'Neal in basketball or Sammy Sosa in baseball, etc. Excamillo was the equivalent hero in Spain. "Song of the Castanets" - Motivation - (This scene is the turning point of the story). The class is presented with a scenario, one from the male point of view and one from the female point of view. They should write, or orally engage in a short dialogue using these scenarios. Allow for more than one presentation. Male: You are on the school football (basketball, baseball, etc) team. Practice starts at 4:00 P.M. You are at your girlfriend's house.

It is 3:55 P.M. Your teammates are outside yelling for you to come down. If you miss practice, you will be thrown off the team. What do you do? Write a dialogue (or orally engage in a dialogue) with your girlfriend in a possible scenario that might occur. Female: Your boyfriend who is on one of the school teams is visiting you after school. Practice starts in 5 minutes. You know that if he misses practice he will be thrown off the team. Yet you want him to stay with you. Write a dialogue (or orally engage in a dialogue) with your boyfriend in which you try to convince him to stay. "Card Trio" - Motivation - Bring in a deck of cards. Set up a small table with 3 girls gathered around, Carmen in the center. The other 2 girls are Frasquite and Mercedes, her gypsy friends. Prearrange the deck so that the 2 gypsy friends get hearts and diamonds and Carmen gets the ace of spades, which represents death. "Final Duet" - Motivation - Bring in a plastic knife and a ring, which can easily be removed and thrown away.

Using the text from the libretto, 2 students should read the text, in English, of the final confrontation between Don Jose and Carmen using the knife and ring as props at the appropriate places. Point out the juxtaposition between the killing of the bull inside the arena, unseen by the audience, at the same time that the audience sees Don Jose stab Carmen. Teaching Materials Using Carmen to Teach Humanities HOW TO USE THIS GUIDE Questions for Discussion and Writing A. SETTING THE STAGE It was Bizet who, in 1873, had the idea of extracting an opera libretto from the admirable novella of Merimee. Meilhac and I immediately shared his feelings ... I went to see Leuven [co-administrator of the Opera-Comique] and he actually interrupted me after the first sentence. "Carmen! Merimee's Carmen! Isn't she killed by her lover? And these bandits, gypsies, and girls working in a cigar factory! At the Opera-Comique! The family theater, the theater of wedding parties ... You'll frighten our audience away. That's impossible." I insisted and explained to Mr.

Leuven that ours was a Carmen, to be sure, but a toned-down, softened Carmen, and that we had actually introduced some characters perfectly in keeping with the style of the opera comique, especially a young girl of great chastity and innocence. There were indeed gypsies, but of the humorous variety (they really weren't). And Carmen's death, the inevitable catastrophe at the end, would be sneaked in somehow at the conclusion of a lively and brilliant act, in broad daylight, on a holiday filled with processions, dances and gay fanfares. Mr. Leuven acquiesced, but after a prolonged struggle. And when I left his office, he said: "Please try not to let her die. Death at the Opera-Comique. That's never happened before, do you hear, never. Don't let her die, I implore you, my dear child." ... (Ludovic Halevy, co-librettist of Carmen) The cardinal aspect of opera comique, as distinct from Grand Opera, has always been noted, but its importance has not been sufficiently emphasized.

The alternation of stretches of spoken dialogue with ensembles or arias was vital to the structure of the libretto and of the opera. In an atmosphere as sentimentally charged as that of nineteenth-century opera, the opportunity for expansion in dialogue was necessary: it not only fleshed out the stick figures of the arias but also provided a measure of Gallic irony in the give-and take of the conversation, which undercut the meanings of the verse ... The importance of the spoken dialogue in opera comique is revealed whenever Bizet's Carmen is correctly performed ... The use of prose dialogue and its emphasis on the singing actor rather than the acting singer was reinforced by the theatrical devices of melodrame and pantomime which were an integral part of French nineteenth-century opera. This in turn led to a further refinement of the habit: the actual singing of dialogue rather than speaking it over music. What this development accomplished was to soften the staticity of the "number" arias and ensembles and give them a measure of musical drama ... this refinement reached its expressive peak in the final scene of Bizet's Carmen. The great confrontation between Carmen and Jose is, in effect, sung melodrame ... (Patrick J.

Smith) The reasons for preferring the dialogue, apart from the fact that this is how Bizet set the work, are obvious: first, dialogue tells you more about the characters in less time than recitative -- for instance, we should be told at the beginning that Jose is repressed and given to violence; second, the suppression of the dialogue also suppresses one vital facet of Carmen's character -- her humor ... third, the incidence and length of the passages of dialogue are all part of the work's classically perfect structure; fourth, Guiraud's recitatives are dreadful. (Rodney Milnes) Almost from the time of their arrival in Spain, the gitanos were accused of every conceivable crime. They desecrated holy images; they had sold stolen children into African slavery; they were enemies of the state in the pay of the Moors ... Continually hunted and persecuted, Carmen's ancestors forged their own laws. They preyed on non-gitanos everywhere, robbed them on the highways, destroyed fields and villages, and poisoned their cattle. They practised sorcery; their women, who pretended to possess occult powers since prehistoric times, by exercise of wit learned to read character or even thought, but truth and deception became indistinguishable.

They disregarded human life and property completely outside the leis prala, the law of the brotherhood, and turned into cruel avengers ... There is no need to marvel at the evil in Carmen's soul. It does not take much imagination to think up what she may have been or done as a child. She is a typical product of heredity and environment. ... the Spanish gitano is known for his extraordinary dancing. Much Spanish music and many Spanish dances are of gitano origin. Here, then, is the reason for Carmen's tantalizing airs and dances. Her forefathers' history is rich with musical rhythms, but it is also full of misery. There is much evil, and Carmen, as a true child of gypsy tradition, continues to perpetuate it ... (Ruth Berges) Carmen is an opera, like Cosi fan tutte, in which the passing of time has affected audience reaction. Until comparatively recently the protagonist would have been considered a sluttish femme fatale who destroyed a decent, upright soldier; today, perhaps, we might regard her as an honest ... and liberated woman murdered by a maternally dominated psychopath. There are many shades of emphasis between these two extremes ...

Micaela's is perhaps the most misunderstood role. She is emphatically no milksop; she must suggest her role as mother-substitute while showing peasant wit in the first act and peasant strength in the third ... To his fatuity ... Escamillo must add the Toreador's cruelty if he is allowed the whole of the third act duet (few are) and an element of glossily packaged, supermarket sex-appeal ... (Rodney Milnes) Carmen is equally superstitious about the sacred book which pre-empts her. Life, she believes, is scored. The cards are pitiless ... Mercedes and Frasquita read in the cards only what they want to find there: prophecies of love and money. Carmen interprets them more strictly, and resigns herself to their agenda for her ...(Peter Conrad) he's a liberated woman, she makes the rules, and like great actresses she speaks of herself in the third person, especially as she nears the end. She's a merry and obsessive lover, but a sad and gluttonous one too, and death more than lust seems her dish. At the hour of her suicide -- what else can you call it? -- Carmen seems fed up. Why?

Music explicates where psychoanalysis fumbles ... (Ned Rorem) Yesterday -- would you believe it? -- I heard Bizet's masterpiece for the twentieth time ... each time I heard Carmen it seemed to me that I was more of a philosopher, a better philosopher than at other times: I became so forbearing, so happy, so Indian, so settled ... And finally love, love translated back into Nature! Not the love of a "cultured girl" -- no Senta-sentimentality. But love as fate, as a fatality, cynical, innocent, cruel -- and precisely in this way Nature! The love whose means is war, whose very essence is the mortal hatred between the sexes! I know no case in which the tragic irony, which constitutes the kernel of love, is expressed with such severity, or in so terrible a formula, as in the last cry of Don Jose with which the work ends: "Yes, it is I who have killed her, I -- my adored Carmen!" Such a conception of love (the only one worthy of a philosopher) is rare: it distinguishes one work of art from among a thousand others.

For, as a rule, artists are no better than the rest of the world, they are even worse -- they misunderstand love. Even Wagner misunderstood it. They imagine that they are selfless in it because they appear to be seeking the advantage of another creature often to their own disadvantage. But in return they want to possess the other creature ... (Friedrich Nietzsche) The most feminist, the most stubborn of these dead women is Carmen the Gypsy, Carmen the damned. Just the same, this woman who says no will die too. This woman who makes decisions all alone, while all around her the men keep busy with their little schemes as brigands and soldiers. She is the very pure, very free, Carmen. My best friend, my favorite. have always heard permanent ridicule heaped on this opera; no music has been more mockingly misappropriated. Toreadors, blaring music, and a gaudy Spain ... They always forget the death ... Holiday in Seville. Caught in the crowd, Carmen is all dressed up like a lady -- Carmen the Gypsy. Therefore, somewhat whore, somewhat Jewess, somewhat Arab, entirely illegal, always on the margins of life ... Carmen is no more a Gypsy than Butterfly is a Japanese woman.

All we have are images comparable to those tourist dolls we bring back from our trips, limited stereotypes of women whom we have not met... Bitch. That is what the right-thinkers of the world call her. But what does she do? She acts like a man, that is all ... She has been forbidden to speak, so she sings ... Jose has only one thing to say: "Be quiet! I told you not to talk to me." They all say that. So Carmen stands up and sweetly sings the rebellious words: "I am not talking to you, I am singing for myself, and I am thinking: it is not forbidden to think." This is what all women say. But yes, it is forbidden for women to think in this stifling Europe where they are just barely beginning to take off. And singing for oneself when one is the prisoner of a young corporal is making eyes at him. Thinking is seducing ... Now we see her at the gates of the arena, where she will not enter. You could say she asked for it ... Everything is peaceful when Jose surprises her and prevents her from passing. He prevents; he is a man. He ties her up; he loves her; he shackles her ...

She says no. No again. No! She does not want him, does not love him anymore. He is bleating and he is dangerous, he repeats over and over: "There is still time ... There is time to save yourself and to save me with you." Ah, here is the naked truth: what has to be saved is the man's image, damaged by pure and simple jealousy, that can bring on all the deaths in the world ...(Catherine Clement) B. QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION AND WRITING 1. Carmen is one of the most complex characters in all opera. Evil? Seductress? Bitch? Free spirit? Feminist? Victim? Suicide? Death-obsessed? Sensualist? Joker? Tragic heroine? All of the above? None? Give your assessment. 2. The other central figures are also more than merely stock characters, and merit analysis. 3. Character analyses lead to the kind of question raised by Milnes: how does our perception of what happens in this work differ from the way people may have seen it a century ago, and why? 4. Speaking of our modern perception of the work, Clement and Rorem take a feminist position on Carmen.

Extend their arguments -- or refute them. 5. Nietzsche claims that this work reveals a true understanding of the nature of love. Do you agree? C. PROJECTS AND FURTHER STUDY 1. Berges gives a glimpse of the history of Gypsies. Do additional research, and ask yourself whether Carmen gives an accurate portrayal of this ethnic group. 2. Carmen was originally an opera comique with extensive spoken dialogue, but Guiraud eliminated dialogue and substituted recitatives of his own composition. There are many other complications in the editorial history of Carmen. Read about this issue; listen to recordings of various versions (the EMI recording conducted by Fruhbeck de Burgos uses the edition of the 1875 premiere, for example); listen to the broadcast to determine what kind of edition is currently used at the Met; and evaluate the merits and drawbacks of these various versions. 3. Conduct a trial of Don Jose for his crimes, with a prosecution, defense, judge, and jury. 4. Bullfighting figures prominently in this opera. Study the history and conduct of bullfighting in Spain, and its cultural significance.

Explore its use in art and literature, notably in the stories and novels of Hemingway. 5. Carmen has been frequently adapted. A Broadway version called Carmen Jones, using Bizet's melodies but updating the setting, was filmed and released on video. Rosi's film of the opera is visually striking and features a strong performance of the title role. There were even silent film versions! Ballet stagings include one by Roland Petit, available in the dance anthology film Black Tights. Watch some of these adaptations, and evaluate them. 6. Carmen is not, of course, a Spanish opera, but a French one. The fascination that Spain holds for French artists has produced many significant works. Think, for example, of "Bolero" and several other pieces by Ravel. Explore the history of this phenomenon, and the reasons for it. 7. Merimee's novella is very fine and creates an impression noticeably different from the opera. Read it. (English translations are available, and have been included with some Carmen recordings.) © 2017 Metropolitan Opera Guild. Carmen libretto (English) - opera by Georges Bizet (Everyone drinks, then exchanges handclasps with the matador.

The officers get ready to go. Escamillo finds himself at Carmen's side.) ESCAMILLO what do they call you? In my worst danger I want to utter your name. CARMEN It comes to the same thing! ESCAMILLO If someone told you he loved you?... CARMEN I should reply that I don't need loving. ESCAMILLO That's not a friendly answer; I'll content myself with hoping and waiting. CARMEN To wait is permitted, to hope is sweet. ZUNIGA Since you're not coming, Carmen, I shall return. CARMEN And you'll be making a big mistake! ZUNIGA Bah! I'll take the risk! (Zuniga and Escamillo leave. Le Dancaïre and Le Remendado enter.) Yes, you shall hear me! I insist, Carmen! (He reaches inside his tunic and takes out the cassia flower Carmen threw him in Act One.) The flower that you threw to me stayed with me in my prison. Withered and dried up, that flower always kept its sweet perfume; and for hours at a time, with my eyes closed, I became drunk with its smell and in the night I used to see you!

I took to cursing you, detesting you, asking myself have to throw her across my path? Then I accused myself of blasphemy, and felt within myself, I felt but one desire, one desire, one hope: to see you again, Carmen, to see you again! For you had only to appear, only to throw a glance my way, to take possession of my whole being, O my Carmen, and I was your chattel! Carmen, I love you! No, you don't love me! JOSÉ Ah! that's not gallantly put, but no matter, go, you'll take to it there when you see how fine is the wandering life; the whole world your domain, your own free will for law, and above all that intoxicating thing: Freedom! Freedom! Take to the country with us, come with us into the mountains, come with us and you'll take to it there when you see, away over there, how fine is the wandering life; the whole world your domain, your own free will for law! And above all that intoxicating thing: Freedom! Freedom!

The open sky, the wandering life, the whole wide world your domain; your own free will for law, and above all that intoxicating thing: Freedom! Freedom! mudcat.org: Lyr Req: Torreador (from opera) English lyrics Found with Google Book Search, in " The High School Assembly Song Book " by Frank R Rix, 1912. TOREADOR SONG "Carmen." G. Bizet, arr. By F. R. Rix. Tr. By F. R. R. 1. Soldiers brave, your kindness, answer claiming, We greet with pleasure, comrades gay and bold; Yes, we Toreros, With ardor flaming, Feel delight and thrill with joy When we combat behold. 'Tis a festal day, seats are crowded, Full with eager throngs to view the coming treat; Loud is the shouting, All eyes are straining; Surging to and fro, the people strive their hero to greet. Hear the shouting and the loud applauding When the bull leaps out and stands with haughty mien! 'Tis indeed the fete of hearts courageous 'Tis the day when brave deeds are seen. CHORUS: Come on! Prepare!

On guard! Beware! Ah! Toreador, be careful! Toreador! Toreador! Know this, to help thee in thy valiant fight, One heart is fondly prayerful, For thee that true one waits, Toreador! For thee that true one waits. 2. Suddenly the noise is silenced, the noise is silenced. What can the matter be? Then comes the answer, then comes the answer; Swift a mighty bull bounds forth, strong and free. On he flies! He strikes his enemies, A horse is overthrown, With him falls a picador; Ah! Bravo, Toro, wildly is shouted, Onward flies the bull, now here, now there, In frenzy he fights. Goaded by the banderillos, With furious looks he comes; the ring is red with gore! Terrified all try to jump the fences, Time for you, O Toreador. Date: 02 Nov 07 - 09:06 AM "Toreador Now Guard Thee" certainly does ring a bell. Probably an Edison Bell in fact.

My Mum had an old windup gramophone which came with an assortment of 8", 10" & 12" records. Some were so old that the original recording had been done acoustically i.e. by shouting into a dirty great horn! Most of the records were dance band stuff by Harry Bidgood, Henry Hall etc "with vocal refrain" but a few were operatic classics which had been rewritten to last no longer than 5 minutes. The Toreador Song was one. Also an aria from the Magic Flute - the label said "Now Your Days of Philandering are Over" (Cherubino Brave and Bold). All these old translations seem to have been full of Thees, Thines and similar doublet ruffling stuff. My Mum, at the age of 94, still sings snatches from the Mozart aria - and the lyrics set my teeth on edge EVERY TIME!! The Story of Bizet's Opera, Carmen (Synopsis) Zuniga (bass) The Story of Carmen, Act I In a town square in Seville, soldiers and townspeople are gathered chatting and moving about, when a young peasant girl name Micaela questions the soldiers about her love, Don Jose.

The soldiers try to persuade the young girl to stay with them until Don Jose returns, but she declines and leaves. Soon, Don Jose arrives moments before the cigarette factory bell rings and a group of women, including the beautiful gypsy, Carmen, exit the building. The soldiers flirt with the girls and asks Carmen when when she will love them. continue reading below our video Celebrity Breakups of 2015 We Didn't See Coming Her reply is given in the famous aria, "L'amour est un oiseau rebella" a.k.a. the Habanera. (Can't understand French? Read the Habanera lyrics and translation ). ( Watch a video of the Habanera .) Learn more about the creation of the Habanera in this Habanera Profile . When Carmen sees Don Jose she tosses a flower in front of him in order to seduce him. Don Jose picks up the flower and becomes enchanted by the beautiful Carmen. Shortly thereafter, Micaela returns with a letter and a kiss sent to Don Jose by his mother. In the letter, Don Jose's mother has asked him to marry Micaela. Don Jose promises his fidelity and love to Micaela.

Moments later, a fight breaks out at the cigarette factory between Carmen and another woman. Carmen injures the woman before she is captured by Officer Zuniga. Zuniga commands Don Jose to escort Carmen to prison. However, Carmen charms Don Jose into letting her escape. When Don Jose is discovered for letting Carmen escape, he is thrown into jail for one month's time. The Story of Carmen, Act II At Lilas Pastia's Inn, Carmen and her friends, Mercedes and Frasquita, are socializing with several soldiers including Officer Zuniga, when the victorious bullfighter, Escamillo, arrives with a celebrating entourage. During the Toreador song, "Votre toast, je peux vos le rendre", Escamilo attempts to capture Carmen's heart. ( Watch a video of "Votre toast" (Toreador Song). ) Learn the Toreador Song lyrics and text translation . However, his attempts are unsuccessful, as are Officer Zuniga's, who tells Carmen that he will return to the inn later to meet with her - Carmen's heart waits for Don Jose's release from prison.

A while later, once the crowd has dispersed, the smugglers Dancairo and Remendado ask for help from Carmen and her two friends. Mercedes and Frasquita agree to help, but Carmen refuses as she knows that Don Jose will be released from prison that day and meet her at the inn. When he finally arrives, Carmen dances for him. Her dance is cut short when a bugle sounds in the distance, signaling Don Jose to return home. Carmen mocks his obedience and tries to persuade him to remain with her and live the gypsy life. Don Jose does not give in until Zuniga arrives at the inn searching for Carmen. Zuniga orders Don Jose to leave, but in a fit of jealousy, he defies his commanders orders. Dancairo and Remendado tackle Zuniga and take him away from the inn. After all of this, Don Jose, feeling as if he has no other choice, stays at the inn with Carmen. The Story of Carmen, Act III Don Jose, now at the smuggler's hideout in the mountains, begins to reminisce about his former home and his mother and starts missing them dearly.

Carmen, who has decided she no longer loves him, takes notice and starts taunting him to leave, but he does not. Mercedes and Frasquita tell their fortunes with a deck of cards. For the two girls, the cards reveal a life of wealth, love, and luxury. For Carmen and Don Jose, it reveals death. After discussing their plains, the smugglers and the girls leave, while Don Jose watches over the hideout. Soon, Micaela, assisted by a guide, comes to the mountain hideout and hides behind a mound of rocks when she hears a gunshot fired by Escamillo. Escamillo enters the hideout and begins telling Don Jose about his crush on Carmen. He also tells Don Jose about Carmen's relationship with a soldier, not knowing the story is about Don Jose. Don Jose becomes very angry and starts fighting Escamillo. The smugglers return before the fight gets worse. Escamillo invites Carmen and the others to his upcoming bullfight as he leaves the hideout. Micaela finally emerges from her hiding spot, and tries to convince Don Jose to return home during the aria "Je dis, que rien ne m'épouvante".

(Watch a video of "Je dis".) After several unsuccessful attempts, she finally persuades him to leave by telling him his beloved mother is dying. Don Jose promises his return to Carmen and leaves with Micaela. In the distance, Escamillo can be heard singing, and Carmen begins heading in that direction. The Story of Carmen, Act IV During the procession of the toreadors, Carmen and Escamillo are seen arriving together. Mercedes and Frasquita warn Carmen that Don Jose is lurking around the crowd plotting to kill her. She tells them that she will speak to him to resolve the matter once and for all. While Escamillo enters the bullfighting ring, a desperate Don Jose meets Carmen outside the arena. He tells her she must commit her love and fidelity to him. She explains that she no longer loves him and throws the ring he gave her on the ground. Now completely mad, Don Jose stabs Carmen in the heart with a dagger. She dies simultaneously with Escamillo's bullfighting victory. When the arena empties, Don Jose confesses his crime to the crowd.

(Watch a video of the final scene from Carmen.) Bizet: Carmen-Toreador song - Laurent Naouri - YouTube Bizet: Carmen-Toreador song - Laurent Naouri Want to watch this again later? Sign in to add this video to a playlist. Need to report the video? Sign in to report inappropriate content. Rating is available when the video has been rented. This feature is not available right now. Please try again later. Uploaded on Feb 6, 2010 Bizet: Carmen-Toreador song: Votre toast, je peux vous le rendre Anne Sofie von Otter (mezzo-soprano) - Carmen Marcus Haddock (tenor) - Don José Lisa Milne (soprano) - Micaëla Carmen, opera | Details | AllMusic AllMusic google+ Description by Rovi Staff The reception history of Georges Bizet 's final dramatic work, Carmen, is rife with ironies. Although almost unanimously condemned by Parisian critics after its first performances in 1875 for its overt sexuality and graphic final scene, Carmen intrigued a number of sophisticated minds and ultimately reached the public in a way that perhaps no other opera has.

Bizet 's aim in composing Carmen had been to transform the flaccid, moralistic bourgeois genre of opéra comique into a more sophisticated type of staged work. With a libretto by Ludovic Halévy and Henri Meilhac , Carmen survives in no single authoritative version despite its enormous popularity and influence. Guiraud converted the original sections of spoken dialogue into recitative for the 1875 Vienna performances. In recent years the original version has made a striking comeback, and one can argue that it is far more telling dramatically than the traditional version with the recitatives. There is also a popular orchestral suite drawn from the opera, and several violin and piano fantasies on its themes also exist. Carmen is cornerstone item in any opera collection. It is ironic that Bizet composed one of music's most evocative landscapes of Spain without ever having been there. Bizet based his opéra comique on Prosper Mérimée 's story, Carmen, which had appeared in October 1845.

Librettists Halévy and Meilhac emphasized the exotic characters of Mérimée's story and retained the themes of social class distinctions, overt sexuality, and misogyny that emerge so forcefully in Mérimée's model. Bizet gave musical expression to the libretto using recurring motives, a distinctive melodic style, and manipulations of genre conventions to give each character a musical significance and a unique expressive idiom. The opera's prelude introduces some of the most important themes, including Escamillo's toreador music and an exotic and sinewy chromatic motive that permeates the opera as a musical symbol for both Carmen's character and the insurmountable power of fate. The gypsy fortune-teller Carmen sings in dance numbers, such as the habanera ("L'amour est un oiseau rebelle") and the seguidilla ("Près des ramparts de Seville") of Act One, and the Gypsy song ("Les tringles des sisters tintaient") of Act Two. Traversing boundaries of diatonic harmony, the sultry chromaticism of Carmen's habanera theme underscores her status as both ethnic outsider and sexually adventuresome female.

In this she stands in sharp contrast to Micaëla, whose Act Three aria ("Je sais que rien ne m'épouvante") is set in the ternary form of the elevated bel canto French grand opera aria. The bullfighter Escamillo announces his trade and masculine prowess in the rollicking Act Two toreador song ("Toréador, en garde!"), which carries the musical suggestion of battle in its fanfare opening and insistent march rhythm. Don José's musical styles reflect different levels in his descent from dutiful soldier to the underworld of obsession. In Act One, Don José sings in a duet with Micaëla ("Ma mère, je la vois"), adopting her elevated lyrical vocal style. In Act Two, after his imprisonment, Don José sings a more popular march-like tune ("Halte-là! Qui va là? Dragon d'Alcala"), reflecting his lower social status. His angst-ridden wailings in the opera's final scene defy clear formal arrangement and convey the psychological turmoil of an obsessed and defeated individual.

Thus did Bizet forge a work that both summed up the musical resources available to him and had enough color and sheer melodic attractiveness to insinuate itself permanently into the public mind. Carmen, indeed, has been the subject of several popular-music adaptations over the years. Parts/Movements No. 2, Sur la place, chacun passe No. 3, Avec la garde montante No. 4a, La Cloche a sonne, nous des ouvrieres No. 4b, La voila! Voila la Carmencita! No. 5, L'amour est un oiseau rebelle [Habanera] No. 6, Carmen! sur tes pas nous nous pressons tous No. 7, Parle-moi de ma mère! No. 8, Au secours! No. 10a, Près des remparts de Séville [Seguidilla] No. 10b, Voice l'orde No. 11a, Entr'acte [Les Dragons d'Alcala] No. 11b, Les tringles des sistres tintaient [Gypsy Song] No. 11c, Danse bohème No.

11d, Vous avez quelque chose No. 12a, Vivat, vivat le toréro! No. 12b, Votre toast je peux vous le rendre [Toreador's Song] No. 13, Nous avons en tete une affaire! No. 14, Halte-là! Qui va là? No. 15a, Je vais danser en votre honneur No. 15b, Au quartier! pour l'appel No. 15c, La fleur que tu ma'vais jetée [Flower Song] No. 15d, Non! tu ne ma'aimes pas! No. 16, Holà! Carmen! No. 17b, Écoute, compagnon, écoute [March of the Smugglers] No. 17c, Notre métier est bon No. 18a, Mêlons! Coupons! [Card Scene] No. 18b, Voyons, que j'essaie à mon tour No. 18c, En vain, pour éviter les réponses amères No. 19, Quant au douanier c'est notre affaire No.

20, Je dis que rien ne m'épouvante [Nocturne] No. 21, Je suis Escamillo No. 22a, Entr'acte [Aragonaise] No. 22b, À deux cuartos! No. 23, Les voici, voici la quadrille [March of the Toreadors] No. 24, Si tu m'aimes, Carmen No. 25, C'est toi! Toreador Song Lyrics and Text Translation Toreador Song Lyrics and Text Translation Toreador Song Lyrics and Text Translation Escamillo's Aria from Bizet's Carmen By Aaron Green Updated July 29, 2016. Georges Bizet was an influential romantic period composer who won many awards for his compositions. One of his most famous operas, Carmen, is a fascinating tale of passion, romance, and betrayal. If you're not familiar with the opera's story, I recommend taking a few minutes to read the Carmen synopsis . Throughout Carmen, you'll hear fantastic arias , including one of the opera's most famous and instantly recognizable Habanera .

(When you've finished reading the lyrics to the Toreador Song, I'm sure you'll enjoy listening to Maria Callas and other sopranos perform the Habanera ). Another famous aria is the Toreador Song, which I've provided the translation and lyrics below. This delightful and catchy aria is first sung during Act 2 by the victorious bullfighter, Escamillo, then again in Act 4. At Lilas Pastia's Inn, the beautiful Carmen and her friends are flirting and socializing with a small group of soldiers when Escamillo and his boisterous entourage burst into the inn after a victorious bullfight. continue reading below our video Top 5 Longest Running TV Shows After spotting Carmen across the room, Escamillo attempts to win her affection by singing this aria. French Text Votre toast, je peux vous le rendre, Senor, senors car avec les soldats Oui, les Toreros, peuvent s'entendre; Pour plaisirs, pour plaisirs, Pousses jusques a la fureur! Car c'est la fete du courage! C'est la fete des gens de co Allons! en garde! Allons! Allons! ah!

Toreador, en garde! Toreador, Toreador! Et songe bien, oui, songe en combattant Qu'un oeil noir te regarde, Et que l'amour t'attend, Et songe bien, oui, songe en combattant Qu'un oeil noir te regarde, Et que l'amour t'attend, Tout d'un coup, on fait silence... Ah! que se passe-t-il? Plus de cris, c'est l'instant! Plus de cris, c'est l'instant! le taureau s'elance En bondissant hors du Toril! Il s'elance! Il entre, Il frappe! un cheval roule, Entrainant un Picador, Ah! bravo! Toro! Hurle la foule! Le taureau va, il vient, il vient et frappe encore! En secouant ses banderilles, Plein de fureur, il court! Le cirque est plein de sang! On se sauve, on franchit les grilles! C'et ton tour maintenant! allons! En garde! allons! allons! Ah! Toreador, en garde!

Toreador, Toreador! Et songe bien, oui, songe en combattant Qu'un oeil noir te regarde, Et que l'amour t'attend, Et songe bien, oui, songe en combattant Qu'un oeil noir te regarde Et que l'amour t'attend, Et songe bien, oui, songe en combattant Qu'un oeil noir te regarde Et que l'amour t'attend, it is the feast day! The arena is full, from top to bottom; The spectators are losing their minds, The spectators began a big fracas! Apostrophes, cries, and uproar grow to a furor! Because it is a celebration of courage! It is the celebration of people with heart! Let’s go, en guard! Let’s go! Let’s go! Ah! Toreador, en guard! Toreador, Toreador! And dream away, yes, dream in combat, That a black eye is watching you, And that love awaits you, Toreador, love awaits you!

And dream away, yes dream in combat, That a black eye is watching you And may love await you, Toreador, love await you! All of a sudden, it is silent... Ah, what is happening? More cries! It is the moment! More cries! It is the moment! The bull throws himself out Bounding out of the bullpin! He throws himself out! He enters. He strikes! A horse rolls, Dragging a picador, Ah, Bravo! Bull! The crowd roars! The bull goes, he comes, He comes and strikes again! Shaking his dart-stabbed neck, Full of fury, he runs! The arena is full of blood! They save themselves, they pass the gates It is your turn now. Let’s go! En guard! Let’s go! Let’s go! Ah! Toreador, en guard! Toreador, Toreador! And dream away, yes, dream in combat, That a black eye is watching you, And that love awaits you, Toreador, Love awaits you! And dream away, yes, dream in combat, That a black eye is looking at you And that love awaits you Toreador, love awaits you!

And dream away, yes, dream in combat, That a black eye is looking at you And that love awaits you And that love awaits you. Toreador, love awaits you!

Question: From which opera does the Toreador Song come
Answer: Carmen