Bizet

Summary

Dominique Pagani discusses Bizet almost solely through Carmen, which he links mainly to Nietzsche's quarrel with Wagner. He recalls that when the opera premiered, some critics faulted it for too much Wagnerism1. Yet in his view, Carmen returns to the aria2. He describes hearing Carmen as Nietzsche's first shock3: Nietzsche makes it the antidote to Wagner, a southern, "sun-tanned", African sensibility4. His own judgement is that the work is a marvel, cruel and spirited, but not deep5. He also cites it as an example of nineteenth-century French opera6, in which the text is still delivered clearly, in the French manner7, and as one of the repertoire pieces performed in Manaus8. Outside Carmen, he mentions Bizet's only symphony, in C major, which he compares to a gust of mistral that washes the landscape clean9.

1. 1The Phenomenology of Spirit2 Jul 2018 · 1:37:35
2. 2#12 Nietzsche (right up) against Wagner28 Jan 2021 · 1:05:34
3. 3#12 Nietzsche (right up) against Wagner28 Jan 2021 · 24:24
4. 4#12 Nietzsche (right up) against Wagner28 Jan 2021 · 1:25:28
5. 5Nietzsche, or the Great Ninny7 Feb 2023 · 10:41
6. 6#13 Mozart restored2 Feb 2021 · 49:00
7. 7#15 Plato, Rousseau, Hegel and music9 Feb 2021 · 59:54
8. 8Nature vs. freedom?8 Oct 2026 · 1:11:51
9. 9#14 Mozart once more7 Feb 2021 · 59:45

Summary produced automatically from 9 of the passages below, to be reviewed; the numbers link to the moment in the session.