France 13.6.1960
The French composer Georges (Alexandre César Léopold) Bizet was born in Paris on October 25, 1838. He died of a heart attack on June 3, 1875, in Bougival, near Paris, at the age of just 36. June 2025 marks the 150th anniversary of his death.
Bizet’s father was an amateur singer and composer; his mother was the sister of the famous singing teacher François Delsarte. In 1848, before his 10th birthday, Georges Bizet became a student at the Paris Conservatoire and wrote his first symphony at the age of 17.
Bizet’s father was an amateur singer and composer; his mother was the sister of the famous singing teacher François Delsarte. In 1848, before his 10th birthday, Georges Bizet became a student at the Paris Conservatoire and wrote his first symphony at the age of 17.
His one-act opéra comique “Djamileh” (1872) is often seen as a precursor to his most famous work, the opera “Carmen” (1875). Although “Carmen” was initially not well received by audiences, it is now one of the most popular works in all of operatic literature. Bizet, who had been made a Chevalier of the Legion of Honor shortly before his death, did not live to see the success of his opera. He died three months after the premiere.
France 31.3.2025
The video shows the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Nathalie Stutzmann performing L’Arlésienne Suite No. 1 & Suite No. 2 by Georges Bizet at the Konserthuset, the Stockholm Concert Hall, in October 2014.