Carmen cartoon by Luc from Journal Amusant 1875 Photo: Public Domain
Bizet's 1875 opera Carmen is based on a French novella by Prosper Mérimée. It's now one of the world's most popular operas, not only because of the whole sequence of memorable numbers such as the Habanera and the Toreador's Song but also because of the earthiness and honesty of the relationships portrayed.
Elric Hooper and Des Wilson discuss the opera's history and story-line, with illustrations from an EMI recording featuring Angela Gheorghiu as Carmen and Roberto Alagna as Don José.
