Which French composer wrote the opera 'Carmen'?

Georges Bizet wrote the opera Carmen. Its French libretto was created by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on Prosper Mérimée’s 1845 novella about a fiercely independent woman in Spain.

Carmen premiered at Paris’s Opéra-Comique on March 3, 1875. Its realistic setting, working-class characters, sexual frankness, and onstage murder challenged the theatre’s family-oriented traditions. Early audiences and critics reacted coolly, but productions abroad helped establish the opera’s reputation.

The score is famous for its vivid orchestration and memorable numbers, including Carmen’s “Habanera,” the “Seguidilla,” and Escamillo’s “Toreador Song.” The opera is often described as opéra comique because its original version used spoken dialogue between musical numbers, even though its dark realism helped point toward later verismo opera.

A common mix-up is confusing Bizet with the librettists: Meilhac and Halévy wrote the words, while Bizet composed the music. Bizet died in 1875, only months after the premiere, before Carmen became an international classic.