When Carmen was first performed in 1875, French conservatives were scandalised at the display of female independence, passion and eroticism by the mezzo-soprano with the lead role, reports The Times.
Célestine Galli-Marié, who has been described as the 19th century French Beyoncé, faced smutty jokes and outright indignation for refusing to play the part of a demure woman. But she ignored the criticism to leave an indelible mark on what has become the world’s most frequently performed opera.
Georges Bizet, the composer, has long been celebrated in France for his masterpiece, while Galli-Marié was relegated to the backstage of artistic history.
Now, on the 150th anniversary of the first performance, her pivotal role in shaping Carmen as a sensual, headstrong and rebellious icon is at last being acknowledged in her own country.
Patrick Taïeb, a musicologist and historian, is to bring out Et Célestine Galli-Marié créa Carmen (And Célestine Galli-Marié created Carmen), a biography of the Paris operatic star, later this month.
Eva Zaïcik, one of France’s leading contemporary mezzo-sopranos, has released Rebelle, an album in which she performs 15 of Galli-Marié’s greatest hits.
Zaïcik said Galli-Marié had been, in effect, the co-creator of Carmen, bringing her full influence to bear on Bizet. “I think she must have been very persuasive,” said Zaïcik, who herself performed at Notre-Dame when the restored cathedral reopened in December after it was badly damaged in the 2019 fire.
Carmen tells the story of a Spanish cigarette factory worker of such beauty that Don José, a soldier, leaves his sweetheart, his mother and his career in the military to follow her. When he is discarded in favour of a charismatic bullfighter, he kills her.
Read more of this report from The Times.