The recent revival of Carmen at the Paris Opéra Comique has recalled attention to the fact, not perhaps generally known in this country, that the opera, for many years the most popular the world over, was received with indifference and could scarcely be called even a succès d'estime when it was first performed. So it was however; for though the first representative of the wayward gipsy was the accomplished Madame Galli-Marie, and the opera was put on the stage with the taste and judgment for which the Salle Favart was so deservedly famous, the public were cold and the critics censorious. The libretto was condemned as "immoral"; some writers were even bold enough to question the originality of the music, and one of them went so far as to suggest that portions of it had been inspired by, if not plagiarised from, Robert le Diable. This was in 1875, and after a few performances Carmen was shelved and not heard again in Paris for eight years.

During this period, however, foreign audiences not only in Europe, but in America had fallen under the spell of Bizet's music, and some of the greatest singers of the day had been more than willing to appear in the opera. In 1882, for example, at the Berlin Opera, while Wagner's Lohengrin was performed 69 times and Gounod's Faust 30 times, Carmen 's number was as high as 105. After this it was impossible to avoid giving the Parisians an opportunity of reconsidering their judgment, and in the spring of 1883, it was once more heard in the theatre where it was at first so coldly received. The performance was not of the finest, and the critics, who had been either hostile or reserved eight years before, were not too ready to reconsider their verdict.

It was only, indeed, after the summer vacation, when the opera was played with a greatly improved cast and Madame Galli-Marie once more in the title part, that Carmen became really popular in Paris. But when the enthusiasm of the public was at last aroused it became almost unparalleled in its intensity. Soon the 100th performance was reached, and the originality and power of the music had become so recognised that advantage was taken of the occasion to place a bust of the composer in the foyer of the theatre. Sadly, Bizet had died soon after the first production in 1875.

· This article is drawn from the archive at the Newsroom