What is "carmen"

French opera by Georges Bizet (1838-1875), premiered in Paris March 3, 1875. As a proper name, it can represent (especially in Italian and Spanish) a diminutive of Carmel/Carmelo or Latin carmen "song, poem, incantation, oracle" (see charm (n.)).

n. (plural of carman English)

Carmen (; ) is an opera in four acts by French composer Georges Bizet. The libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on a novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. The opera was first performed at the Opéra-Comique in Paris on 3 March 1875, where its breaking of conventions shocked and scandalized its first audiences. Bizet died suddenly after the 33rd performance, unaware that the work would achieve international acclaim within the following ten years. Carmen has since become one of the most popular and frequently performed operas in the classical canon; the " Habanera" from act 1 and the " Toreador Song" from act 2 are among the best known of all operatic arias.

The opera is written in the genre of opéra comique with musical numbers separated by dialogue. It is set in southern Spain and tells the story of the downfall of Don José, a naïve soldier who is seduced by the wiles of the fiery gypsy Carmen. José abandons his childhood sweetheart and deserts from his military duties, yet loses Carmen's love to the glamorous toreador Escamillo, after which José kills her in a jealous rage. The depictions of proletarian life, immorality, and lawlessness, and the tragic death of the main character on stage, broke new ground in French opera and were highly controversial.

After the premiere, most reviews were critical, and the French public was generally indifferent. Carmen initially gained its reputation through a series of productions outside France, and was not revived in Paris until 1883; thereafter it rapidly acquired popularity at home and abroad. Later commentators have asserted that Carmen forms the bridge between the tradition of opéra comique and the realism or verismo that characterised late 19th-century Italian opera.

The music of Carmen has since been widely acclaimed for brilliance of melody, harmony, atmosphere, and orchestration, and for the skill with which Bizet musically represented the emotions and suffering of his characters. After the composer's death, the score was subject to significant amendment, including the introduction of recitative in place of the original dialogue; there is no standard edition of the opera, and different views exist as to what versions best express Bizet's intentions. The opera has been recorded many times since the first acoustical recording in 1908, and the story has been the subject of many screen and stage adaptations.

Carmen is a French opera by Georges Bizet.

Carmen may also refer to:

• Carmen (name), a given name
• Carmen (novella), a story by Prosper Mérimée and the basis for Bizet's opera

Carmen (1984) is a film directed by Francesco Rosi. It is a film version of Bizet's opera Carmen. Julia Migenes stars in the title role, Plácido Domingo as Don José, Ruggero Raimondi as Escamillo, and Faith Esham as Micaela. Lorin Maazel conducts the Orchestre National de France.

The film premiered in France on March 14, 1984, and in the U.S. on September 20 of that year. In 1985, the film was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Film.

In Ancient Rome, the term "carmen" was generally used to signify a verse; but in its proper sense, it referred to a spell or prayer, form of expiation, execration, etc. Surviving examples include the Carmen Arvale and the Carmen Saliare.

Carmen is a novella by Prosper Mérimée, written and first published in 1845. It has been adapted into a number of dramatic works, including the famous opera by Georges Bizet.

Carmen was a British-American band active from 1970-75. Their style was a fusion of rock music and flamenco music and dance. While the band achieved some success in recording and performance, its greatest significance lies in later contributions of its members to more famous rock groups.

Carmen's first album, Fandangos in Space, was ranked number 46 in the Rolling Stone list of 50 Greatest Prog Rock Albums of All Time.

Carmen is a 1983 Spanish film adaptation of the novel Carmen by Prosper Mérimée, using music from the opera Carmen by Georges Bizet. It was directed and choreographed in the flamenco style by Carlos Saura and María Pagés. It is the second part of Saura's flamenco trilogy in the 1980s, preceded by Bodas de sangre and followed by El amor brujo.

The film's basic plot line is that the modern dancers re-enact in their personal lives Bizet's tragic love affair, up to its lethal climax.

Carmen was a 1915 American silent drama film, written and directed by Raoul Walsh, which starred Theda Bara. It is based on the 1845 novella Carmen, the film was shot at the Fox Studio in Fort Lee, New Jersey. It is now considered lost.

Carmen is a 2003 Spanish drama film directed by Vicente Aranda. The script was written by Aranda and Joaquim Jordà adapting the classic romance of the same name by Prosper Mérimée. Director Vicente Aranda based the plot on Mérimée's original 1847 novella about jealousy and passion, not its famous operatic adaptation by Bizet from 1875, changing some details about the love story between Carmen ( Paz Vega) and José ( Leonardo Sbaraglia). As in the novella, author Mérimée ( Jay Benedict) is portrayed as a French writer who finds the "real" Carmen in early 19th century Spain.

Carmen is a unisex given name that represents two names taken as one. Its first root is Italian, Spanish and Portuguese, used as a diminutive nickname for Carmel and Carmelo (respectively), from Hebrew karmel, "God's vineyard." The second origin is from Latin carmen, which means "song," "tune," or "poem" and is also the root of the English word charm. The name of the Roman Goddess Carmenta based on this root comes from the purely Latin origin. While in English the name is unisex, in Italian, in Spanish and in Portuguese it is generally female.

"Carmen" is a song by American singer and songwriter Lana Del Rey, taken from her second studio album Born to Die (2012). It was released as a single on the iTunes Stores of Germany, Austria, and Switzerland on January 26, 2012 by Universal Music Group. A music video, directed by Del Rey, was released on April 21, 2012. During reviews for the album, "Carmen" garnered high acclaim from critics, most of whom praised the song's lyrics.

Carmen is a 1932 British musical film directed by Cecil Lewis and starring Marguerite Namara, Thomas F. Burke and Lance Fairfax. It is an adaptation of the opera Carmen by Georges Bizet. It is also known by the alternative title of Gipsy Blood.

Carmen is a ballet created by Roland Petit and his company ‘Les Ballets de Paris’ at the Prince's Theatre in London on 21 February 1949, which has entered the repertory of ballet companies in France and around the world. This version is in five scenes and represents a striking admixture of classical ballet, Spanish-style movement, mime, and freshly invented dramatic dance action.

The original designs and costumes were by Antoni Clavé. The music is taken from the 1875 opéra comique of the same name by Georges Bizet, arranged and orchestrated by Tommy Desserre. The scenario is based on the 1845 novella by Prosper Mérimée. The principal roles were created by Petit's wife Zizi Jeanmaire (Carmen), Roland Petit (Don José) and Serge Perrault (Le Toréador). Over 5,000 performances of the work were given around the world over its first 50 years.

Carmen is a 1918 German silent drama film directed by Ernst Lubitsch and starring Pola Negri, Harry Liedtke and Leopold von Ledebur. It was based on the novella Carmen by Prosper Mérimée. Like Bizet's opera Carmen, this film only adapts the third part of Mérimée's novella and transforms the character of Don José at the beginning of the story from bandit on the run to honest man in love with his childhood sweetheart. The film was released with English intertitles in the United States in 1921 under the alternative title Gypsy Blood.

Carmen is a French-Italian film directed by Christian-Jaque and starring Jean Marais. It is a version of the famous opera. Although filmed in 1942 it was not released until 1945.

It was one of the most popular movies in France in 1945 with admissions of 4,277,813.

Carmen (full title Modern Jazz Performances from Bizet's Carmen and also referred to as Kessel Plays Carmen) is an album by guitarist Barney Kessel performing adaptations of pieces from Georges Bizet's opera Carmen recorded in late 1958 and released on the Contemporary label.

Carmen is a 1926 French silent drama film directed by Jacques Feyder and starring Raquel Meller, Fred Louis Lerch and Gaston Modot. It is based on Prosper Mérimée's 1845 Seville-set novel Carmen.

The film's art direction was by Lazare Meerson.

Carmen is a musical with a book by Norman Allen, lyrics by regular collaborator Jack Murphy, and music by Frank Wildhorn. It is based on the novella of the same name.

It premiered in Prague in October 2008 at the Karlín Musical Theater.

Carmen is a 1943 Argentine musical comedy film directed by Luis César Amadori and starring Niní Marshall, Juan José Padilla and Adrián Cuneo.

The film's art direction was by Raúl Soldi.

Carmen'' (Italian:Carmen proibita'', Spanish:Siempre Carmen) is a 1953 Italian-Spanish drama film directed by Giuseppe Maria Scotese and starring Ana Esmeralda, Fausto Tozzi and Mariella Lotti. It is based on Prosper Mérimée's novel Carmen.