Carmen, Suite No. 1

When Georges Bizet died in June 1875, shortly after the lukewarm reception of Carmen, he had no idea that this work would become one of the most popular operas of all time! Bizet wasn’t the only French composer fascinated with Spain: Saint-Saëns, Lalo, Chabrier, Debussy and Ravel all fell under its spell. The two Carmen Suites, compiled by Ernest Guiraud, highlight the opera’s most well-known passages. The first of these includes two typically Spanish dances: the Aragonaise and the Séguedille.