Bizet

What Dominique Pagani says

Dominique Pagani discusses Bizet mainly through Carmen and the role this opera plays for Nietzsche. Hearing Carmen, he says, is Nietzsche's first shock1, and Nietzsche makes it the antidote to Wagner, in the name of a southern, "sun-tanned", African sensibility2. He points out, however, that at the premiere some critics heard Wagner in Bizet or blamed him for too much Wagnerism3, whereas the opera in fact returns to the aria4. He cites Carmen as an example of nineteenth-century French opera, in which the diction of the text stays clear, in the French manner5. His judgement is nuanced: Carmen is a marvel, cruel and spirited, but not deep6, which ties in with his critical reading of Nietzsche's enthusiasm. He also mentions Bizet's only symphony, the Symphony in C major, which he compares to a gust of mistral that washes the landscape clean7.

1. 1Musicosophie 12. Nietzsche (tout) contre Wagner28 Jan 2021 · 24:24
2. 2Musicosophie 12. Nietzsche (tout) contre Wagner28 Jan 2021 · 1:25:28
3. 3La Phénoménologie de L'esprit2 Jul 2018 · 1:37:35
4. 4Musicosophie 12. Nietzsche (tout) contre Wagner28 Jan 2021 · 1:05:34
5. 5Musicosophie 15. Platon, Rouseau, Hegel et la musique9 Feb 2021 · 59:54
6. 6Nietzsche ou le Grand Nigaud - Lectures sur le vif7 Feb 2023 · 10:41
7. 7Musicosophie 14. Mozart derechef7 Feb 2021 · 59:45

Summary produced automatically from 8 of the passages below, to be reviewed; the numbers link to the moment in the session.