Carmen is undoubtedly one of the most popular and most performed operas in the world. Its premiere in 1875 at the Opéra-Comique in Paris, however, was only a moderate success: The outrageous new realism, the brutality and vehemence in the actors’ actions, and not least the shady milieu, overwhelmed the conventional Parisian audience, which was stuck in old patterns of thought.
The opera is set around 1820 in Seville, Andalusia, and is based on the novella of the same name by Prosper Merimée. The libretto was co-produced by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy (nephew of composer Jacques Fromental Halévy and also cousin of Georges Bizet’s wife). Shortly after its premiere, Carmen began its triumphal march across the world via Vienna and the rest of Europe, a triumph that continues to this day.
The theme and plot of this opera inspired numerous artists to create independent works, and various (opera and dance) films as well as ballets were made. Georges Bizet (1838-1875), however, unfortunately did not live to see the triumph of his sensual and passionate masterpiece. Exactly three months to the day after the first performance, he succumbed to a fatal heart attack at the age of only 36.

"Madama Butterfly" was, according to Puccini’s own statement, Puccini’s favorite work: "...of all the operas I have written, the most deeply felt and suggestive. After the composer had approached the Far Eastern subject with zeal, he set about studying Japanese musical culture and the customs and traditions of the country with great energy. He even sought out a Japanese actress who was touring Europe to listen to the timbre of the Japanese female voice. Giacomo Puccini (1858-1924) masterfully blended his own style with authentic Japanese melodies and the use of exotic instruments, giving the opera its unmistakable atmosphere.
Guilt, atonement and the blossoming of a deep love are the core themes of the work. The tragic figure of the Butterfly is at the center of the action: Puccini completes her development from happy bride to abandoned mother and finally to suicide victim with dreamy, ecstatic melodies and arias. All the other characters in the piece, even the male lead character Pinkerton, are vocally and action-determining rather than marginal figures.
As devastating as the premiere was for the composer in February 1904 at the Teatro alla Scala in Milan, "Madama Butterfly" began its great triumphal march around the world in a revised version in May 1904 in Brescia.