ARTS-Western Classical Plays Opera 4Q
ARTS-Western Classical Plays Opera 4Q
ARTS-Western Classical Plays Opera 4Q
George Sand
This French composer was a pianist
and best known for his operas.
Carmen is the most popular among
his works. Bizet composed the title
role for a mezzo-soprano in the
character of Carmen. The opera
tells the story of the downfall of
Don José, a naïve soldier who is
seduced by the charms of the
sizzling Gypsy, Carmen.
When it was first performed, it
was immediately hailed as a
junior masterwork and became
one of the great performances
during the Romantic period. It
was an impressive work of a
seventeen-year-old boy. Bizet
made a name as a French
composer and pianist of the
Romantic era. He was famously
known for his opera Carmen.
Genre: Opéra-Comique (with musical numbers
separated by dialogue)
Main Characters:
• Carmen (soprano) • Frasquita (mezzo-soprano)
• Don Jose (tenor) • Mercedes (mezzo-soprano)
• El Dancairo (baritone) • Micaela (soprano)
• El Remendado (tenor) • Morales (bass)
• Escamillo (baritone) • Zuniga (bass
Brief History:
Carmen is one among the best Western operas of all
time. It was first performed in Paris in France on March 3,
1875. The opera is composed of four acts with music
written by the French composer Georges Bizet. Henri
Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy wrote the libretto part.
Carmen’s plot was based on a novel of the same name
by Prosper Mérimée.
Music: “Toréador Song” and “Habanera”
Staging:
The story is set in Seville, Spain and the surrounding hills, in 1820.
The opera tells the story of the downfall of Don José, a naïve
soldier who was captured by the charms of the flaming and
independent gypsy, Carmen. No man could resist Carmen’s
charms. The opera is a fascinating drama of love and jealousy,
filled with famously alluring melodies and captivating dancing. The
story has been the subject of many screen and stage adaptations.
Sophocles (sofəkliːz); c. 497/6 BC 406/5 BC)
is an ancient Greek tragedian. His
contemporary playwrights were Aeschylus,
and Euripides. Sophocles wrote 123 plays,
but only seven have survived in a complete
form:
• Ajax,
• Antigone,
• The Women of Trachis,
• Oedipus( Ee dih - pus) the King,
• Electra,
• Philoctetes and
• Oedipus at Colonus.
The most famous tragedies of Sophocles were Oedipus and Antigone: they were
known as the Theban plays, although each play was actually a part of a different
tetralogy. Sophocles influenced the development of the drama, most importantly by
adding a third actor. And he developed his characters to a greater importance than
the chorus in the presentation of the plot.
Main Characters:
Activity: Q & A
Directions: Answer the given question above. Use a
separate paper for this activity