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French composer (1838–1875) whose operatic masterpiece, Carmen, was completed just before his untimely death from heart disease. Signed musical score: Carmen: Opera Comique en 4 Acts. First edition, first issue (with the error in the index listing the Finale of Act II on p. 175, no note to p. 20, and a footnote to p. 49), pre-dating the publication of the full score. Paris: Choudens Père & Fils [PN A.C. 3082], March 1875. Hardcover bound in quarter dark red morocco with marbled boards, spine in gilt-ruled compartments, titling gilt, marbled endpapers, 7.75 x 11, 351 pages. Signed and inscribed on the title page in ink to French music critic Henri Blaze de Bury, "A Monsieur Blaze de Bury, Son bien reconnaissant et dévoué, Georges Bizet." Autographic condition: very good, with moderately heavy overall foxing and a small stain to the signed page; inscription slightly trimmed by the binder, just touching two letters of the dedicatee's name but not Bizet's signature. Book condition: G+/None, with the binding worn and rubbed; slightly browned; moderate foxing throughout, more pronounced to first and last leaves; numerous tears, some quite significant, in 3 cases with the loss of several measures of music; old repairs to blank margins of many leaves, occasionally obscuring printed area, and several additional old repairs; a number of leaves partially detached.
Composed in 1873–1874 to a libretto by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy after Prosper Mérimée’s novella, Carmen is now recognized as Bizet’s masterpiece and one of the most enduring operas in the entire repertory. Although its first reception was controversial, its combination of unforgettable melody, vivid characterization, dramatic realism, and brilliantly imagined Spanish color soon secured its place among the defining works of 19th-century opera.
The presentation to Henri Blaze de Bury is especially appealing, possibly reflecting the composer’s gratitude for Blaze de Bury’s favorable notice of Carmen in the Revue des Deux Mondes after hearing the opera. Association copies of Carmen from Bizet’s lifetime are of the utmost rarity, and this example—linking the composer, the original published form of the score, and one of the most important operas ever written—is a remarkable survival.
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