Carmens Aria A song of Celebration and Self-Realization - Essay Example

Introduction Aria in an opera refers to a long solo song accompanied by music. It is derived from the Italian word "air" meaning "a tune". Aria's form an important part of all famous opera's. The Habenera Aria from the Carmen opera composed by French writer Georges Bizet became eternally famous for its wonderful music and beautiful lyrics. The opera has two more famous aria's like "Toreador song" and "Je Dis". But, Carmen's aria is the most famous one adopted by a number of musicians and classical French singers for more than a century. Carmen's aria is a celebration of life and love, expressing the traits of the lead character in the story. The aria explores love from an independent ladies perspective who lives life without any constraint of chasteness or fidelity. It explores the hidden desires in every human mind to lead a similar life. Poetry From a poetical sense Bizet wanted to create a lead character much different from the classical opera heroines of Europe. He specifically used the Habanera music to create an air of mystery and foreignism around the Carmen's character. The libretto occurs when Carmen is asked by a group of men whom she will choose as her lover. Carmen expresses her desire to keep her choice open forever through the aria. She talks about herself and about her attitude towards love in general. She is exotic, free like a bird and declares her love has no boundaries and cannot be tamed. She warns any men whom she might fall in love with about her indecisive attitude. Carmen neither wants to please any man nor be attached to him for a long time. Her love is like a bird which keeps escaping the boundaries constantly. Bizet hailed Carmen came from a far off land to justify her exotic nature. The verses of the libretto create ideas related to theme of naturalism. Carmen is a working class girl who does not respect much of the middle class values related to fidelity. Bizet portrays the working class women as strong and sexually demanding who are ready to socialize, free to travel and capable of fighting for themselves. Carmen says her love is like a bird, a rebellious one that nobody can ever win over in the very first line. She concludes the final line of the aria by saying her love will never be bound by any known law. The second stanza of the aria portrays Carmen's choice and taste of men. She prefers a silent mum man than the one who talks constantly. Women are often said to love humorous and talkative men, capable of praising their beauty and virtue. But, Carmen gives importance to a man's look and prefers him to be timid and sort of submissive. She continues to warn the people she might fall in love with and declares love comes when it is least expected and does not show up when you wait expectantly. Carmen is much different from the conservative women who accept love at first sight and any man who adores them. She is choosy in picking men and hints she will keep changing her choices constantly. Women were often looked upon as objects of affection and expected to follow strict social norms in the 19th century Europe. Bizet created Carmen character juxtaposing all these social expectations. She is a lady with her own flaws and strengths. Carmen fights with other women brutally, seduces Jose to allow her escape from the law and indulges in all forbidden acts of love with him. She portrays all shades of evil eve totally in contrast to the conservative and conventional women of the 19th century. Dramatic Connect Don Jose, the hero of the story is attracted to young and beautiful Carmen at the very first sight. He is so smitten by her that he goes to the extent of ignoring his military duties and disobeying his higher official. But, he fails to take the hints Carmen gives about herself through the aria. Carmen is an eagle whom Jose tries to turn desperately into a pet pigeon. When he finally realizes that taming Carmen’s independent spirit is impossible, he extinguishes it by killing her. Carmen’s aria is a self proclamation of her character which Jose fails to understand. The aria is placed at introductory part of the opera to give the audience a hint about Carmen’s true nature and what sort of problems it might cause in a conservative society. Just as Carmen mentions in her aria, her love knew no rules. She seduces mediocre Jose, a loser compared to Escamillo a gallant and wealthy bull fighter initially. But, switches to the enchanting Escamillo, frustrated that Jose left with Micaela, a girl the exact opposite of Carmen.The aria rightly expresses her contrasting taste in men and her wandering heart. Music Habanera is a very famous music genre which originated in the Cuban capital Havana. The Spanish invasion of the land paved way for the occurrence of Habanera in Europe. Carmen’s Aria is based on the Spanish musician Sebastian Yradier’s the “El Arrreglito”. Georges Bizet, initially considered the melody a folk, but acknowledged the original composer posthumously once he knew about the true source of the song. The music of Carmen’s aria follows a descending chromatic scale. There are several variants on the same phrase first occurring on the minor scale followed by variations in the major scale. The variances correlate with the changing attitudes towards love expressed in the lyrics. This hypnotic musical piece explores the free spirit and sexual freedom of the gypsy world (Green, nd). The Perpetual Aria Carmen’s Aria is perhaps the most influential and famous musical pieces in opera history. The wonderful lyrics with a touch of feminism and the subtle eroticism became the trademark of this opera. Though Micaela's aria "Ji dis, Que rien ne m'epouvante" is also quite classical and fantastically melodious, it is the rebellion and powerful playfulness of the Carmen's opera that mesmerized the audience throughout the centuries. The accompaniment of guitar like folk instruments with tango dance like rhythms and the celebration of gypsy culture in the aria makes it an ever favorite one among musicians. From a critics point of view, the Carmen’s aria and the whole opera were looked down in the beginning when it was initially staged. The show came as as a sort of culture shock to the conservative elite society. The death of the lead character and portrayal of another lead character as a murderer was not acceptable by the audience. But, the beauty of the arias and the gist of the play became quite famous in the years which followed. In fact, several new adaptations of the original versions were made in the 20th century. Most of them were political and some criticized the class distinctions in Europe. The later adaptations often portrayed unjust advances of Germany, Italy and Japan towards the world to Carmen’s seduction towards Jose and held how it will lead to ruin and chaos in the world (Bensusan, nd). Conclusion Carmen’s aria became quite famous not just because of its excellent music and wonderful lyrics. It is the hidden spirit of freedom expressed in the aria that made it a smash hit. Both men and women have a secret desire to lead a wild and uncontrollable life, no matter how elite or conservative their upbringing might be. The aria showcased this inner desire suppressed in every human heart to stay free from all social and relationship clutches forever. Every true work of art becomes everlasting only when the audience is able to identify themselves with the characters portrayed. Carmen is the hidden Mr.Hyde in every Dr.Jekyll, ready to be unleashed when there is a chance. That is the reason Carmen’s aria became so famous, as it talks about the unexpressed yearning of every human heart. References 1. Bensusan, Guy. “Carmen and her Updates: An Introduction”. USDLA Journal. 2. Green, Aaron. The Synopsis of "Carmen". Read More