Georges Bizet

Born in Paris in 1838 into a musical family, Georges Bizet showed remarkable talent very early and entered the Paris Conservatoire as a child. He went on to win the Prix de Rome, one of France’s most prestigious awards for young composers, and developed a gift for music that was both refined and immediately expressive.

During his lifetime, Bizet did not enjoy the level of success that later generations would give him. He wrote orchestral music, piano works, and several operas, including Les pêcheurs de perles and music for L'Arlésienne, but it was his final opera, Carmen, that would secure his place in music history.

Premiered in 1875, Carmen shocked some early audiences with its realism and passionate characters, yet it soon became one of the most frequently performed operas in the world. Bizet died that same year at just 36, never knowing how famous his music would become.