Carmen

"Among operas, therer is none which is finer 'theater' than 'Carmen." The perfect welding of the music to the constantly changing situations and emotions of the action is a manifestation of inspiration hardly equaled in all opera.

The overture previews a numbger of themes to be heard later in the opera, such as he spirited music which typifies the excited crowd outside the bull-ring at the beginning of the fourth act, the famous 'Toreador Song' of Escamillo and, of particular signifigance, the ominous two-measure phrase which suggests the fateful and fatal association of Jose and Carmen. (This theme shoul e memorized, as the motivating musical germ of the opera).

In the court of a cigarette factory in Seville we see the near-by public squae. Micaela enters, seeking her lover, the brigadier Jose, and bearing a message from his mother. But he is with his troop, which will arrive a little later to relieve the guard.

A troop of street-urchins mimics th changing of the guard. gthe factor bell is heard, and the girld, among them Carmen, throng ino the square. Carmen sings the 'Habanera' and, noticing Jose, who is giving her less than casual attention, throws him the rose she carries. Thogh he hardly realizes it himself, her witchery has made its impress, and Fate begins its spell upon them. Micaela re-enters, and there is a tender exhcnae of sentiment between the two lovers.

Presently there is an affray in the factory and Carmen, who has injued a fellow worker, is ordered to prison by Captain Zuniga, and in charge of Jose. Carmen sings derisively the "Seguidilla," and induces the infatuated soldier to release her bonds, so that she escapes laughing into the crowd.

Act II take splace in the tavern of Lillas Pastia, a resort of questionable characters. Carmen is here in the company of a band of smugglers. Escamillo, the dashing and popular hero of the bull-ring enters, and at once is impressed by Carmen, who is not insensible to his homage.

It is two months since the events of the first act, and Jose has finished the sentence imposed for his connivance in the escape of Carmen. She now awaits his visit, and an ardent love scene follows his arrival, soon interrupted by the sound of a distant bugle calling him back to quarters. His duty as a soldier finally overcomes his desire to be with her, and Carmen furiously repudiates him. Zuniga arrives on the scene, Jose defiesthe oficer, and of course s obliged to flee with Carmen and the smugglers.

The third act shows a wild retreat in the mountains, the camp of th smugglers. Carmen is already tiring of her soldier lover, and, though the cards tell her that their lives will end tragically together, she welcomes th arrival of Escamillo. Micaela brings word to Jose that his mother is dying, and though infuriated by taunts of Carmen, he goes to his home, not without the threa that he will return.

The final act takes place outside the Plaza de Toros at Seville. Carmen, attired in her richest finery, has come to witness the triumph of her new lover, Escamillo, but is informed by her friends that Jose is in the crows. She refuses o avoid him, and determines to have it out with him, although she is convincedm with Gypsy fatalism, that in doing so her life is at stake.

Jose, mad with jealousy, pleads with her repeatedly to fly with him. But er love for him is dead, and she scornfully refuses. As the crowd shout their acclaim for the victorious Escamillo, and Carmen eagerly ries to rush insid to him, Jose stabs her, and falls beside her bodty, grief-crazed, as he curtain closes. Fate has been acomplished."

Description by E. Clyde Whitlock, Music Editor of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram (1948).