Carmen

Following the success of Davide Pizzigoni's illustrated Magic Flute, this elegant edition of Bizet's Carmen is the ultimate opera lover's gift, combining a sumptuously illustrated and lyrically translated libretto with a lively music CD.

Georges Bizet's final opera, Carmen, has become one of the best-known plots with the most memorable of music, despite its initial rejection by Paris critics following its "scandalous" 1875 premiere at the OpŽra-Comique, a theater known for works of a lighter flavor. Basing their work on Prosper MŽrimŽe's novella, talented librettists Henri Meilhac and Ludovic HalŽvy fashioned a timeless story of love, jealousy, and violence in the Spanish city of Seville, all set into motion by Carmen, a seductive, free-spirited femme fatale.

For this new edition of Carmen, artist Davide Pizzigoni once again creates a stage for the imagination with richly allusive illustrations that capture the exotic spirit of the Spanish setting. J. D. McClatchy's fluid and rhythmic translation of the libretto allows the listener full appreciation of Bizet's swift and lustrous score as it is exquisitely performed in this 1950 recording of AndrŽ Cluytens conducting the Orchestre du ThŽ‰tre del'OpŽra-Comique. A truly symphonic experience of song, poetry, and art, Carmen is the perfect gift for any opera fan.

Other Details:

Cloth binding with music CD attached. 270 full-color illustrations. 200 pages. 9 7/8 x 9 7/8" trim size. Published in 2001.

Author Biography: David Pizzigoni is a Milan-based artist and designer whose opera credits include sets and costumes for productions in Zurich and Vienna.

J.D. McClatchy, who lives in New York and Stonington,Connecticut, is editor of the Yal Review and author of four collections of poetry and four original opera libretti.