Act I
1. This is the most commonly used version of Carmen, with the recitatives by Guiraud. After much experimentation with the Opéra Comique version with spoken dialogue, non-French impresarios decided that it was too long and that non-French singers simply couldn’t handle that much dialogue; French impresarios themselves have decided that the dialogue interrupts the flow of the music, even when spoken by French singers. The present version is starting to have more currency again.
2. The liaison is “optional.” One can say D’entrer chez nous // un instant without the z liaison, or one can accept a slight z liaison. The z liaison must be most delicate!
3. The word fumée (smoke) is pronounced as both [fy'meœ and fy'me], depending on the musical notation, which gives a note for the mute syllable in some instances but not in others.
4. This chorus was found later and inserted into the Alkor-Edition score. This score also contains the entire dialogue as well as the Guiraud recitatives. This is the time-tested G. Schirmer score.
5. The “habanera” rhythm started in Havana, Cuba (Habana, in Spanish), influenced by the music of the African slaves brought over from the West African coast by the Spanish Conquistadores who settled the Caribbean. The term “Afro-Cuban music” refers specifically to the music with catchy rhythms, giving origin to today’s Hispanic “salsa.” The Habanera is a slow, sensuous rhythm. The spelling is habanera, and not habañera, a mistake that has been perpetuated for decades by one of our most esteemed music publishers in their mezzo-soprano anthology. Incidentally, a bañera could be construed as a mother’s terse order to a dirty child to go and jump into the bathtub!
6. Notice the words rebelle and l’appelle. There has to be a vowel sound at the end of these two words, since the l is a voiced consonant.
7. This is an obvious “dig” at José, who so far hasn’t paid any attention to her and continues to fidget with his chain.
8. The reference to bohème implies the gypsies’ carefree, unconventional (bohemian) lifestyle.
9. The French dislike the clash of identical vowels, as in une fois à. The liaison with a very delicate [z] is recommended.
10. Gypsies were believed to have magic powers, and when one was caught in some sort of magic artifice, he/she was tied up and made to ride a donkey through the streets while being flogged mercilessly.
11. Pierrre Bernac, in his useful book The Interpretation of French Song, warns us that comical alliterations need to be avoided when making liaison. No liaison is made between prises and aux, which would sound “comical” with the two z’s next to each other ['sœ 'sõ prizœ 'zo ʃœ'vø].
12. By “iron” she means sword, pistol, even an iron club to force her to confess.
13. Again, a very slight liaison with the z.
14. Manzanilla is a very dry Spanish sherry, usually served very cold.
15. One word about DONC: The word is only pronounced with a final [k] sound when it heads a sentence or phrase or when it is in liaison. At the end of a phrase it is pronounced without a [k] sound. However, even the venerable Fouché, in his book on French pronunciation, admits that this rule is not always followed, and that many French people pronounce the [k] at all times.
16. The [ɛ] nasal vowel in French de-nazalizes in liaison, except in the words rien and bien.
Act II
1. A sistrum was an ancient Egyptian percussion instrument consisting of a lyre-shaped frame with loosely held rods running through it. It was a rattle or noisemaker that the ancient Egyptian priests of Isis used to shake at their festivals of that goddess. (From the Greek seistron, “to shake.”)
2. Zébré comes from “zebra,” an animal with stripes as well.
3. Faire rage is an expression meaning “to use maximum strength,” “to do something with such energy as to seem possessed.”
4. A corregidor in Spain was the chief magistrate of a town, the one who “corrected” bad situations, such as shutting down Pastia’s tavern due to the smuggling business that went on inside.
5. Vivat, according to all the dictionaries, is pronounced without a t at the end. In Werther the two pals Johann and Schmidt praise Bacchus IN LATIN: Vivat Bacchus semper vivat. In this case the word is pronounced with a t, but not here.
6. The word Toréador is a French fabrication. A bullfighter in Spanish is a torero. The mainliner is usually called matador (“killer”) or espada (“sword”). In the fourth act, Escamillo is called espada by the chorus.
7. It is imperative for the singer doing this role to know what a bullfight is and what goes on. The first part is the desfile, the procession, where the leading Matador (Escamillo) enters the arena, followed by his quadrilla (his “team”); this “team” consists of helpers, all bullfighters but not as famous or brave as the leading Matador. The banderilleros, men with the barbed darts (banderillas; in French, banderilles) colorfully decorated, are also part of the team. When the trumpet sounds, the bullpen (toril) is opened, and the raging bull (who has been in darkness for two days) bounds out into the light, accosting anything or anyone it sees in its path. Its fury is unbounded. The lesser bullfighters, using a large cape, test the bull’s reactions, trying to see which way he hooks his horns, while the Matador watches. He may himself then make a few passes with the capa, the cape, to see how the bull behaves. At this point comes what is considered the cowardly portion of the bullfights, when the picadors enter the arena, on blindfolded, well-padded horses, and by deft maneuvers attract the bull to their mounts; picadors are usually older bullfighters, who have lost either their nerve or their agility and reflexes. As the bull charges, they prick the big neck muscle on its back with a long pointed lance called a pica (ergo: picadors). After several jabs with the lance, the bull’s neck muscles are sufficiently weakened so that his whole head is now lower. Once the bullfight “president” deems that enough damage has been caused by the picadors, he orders them off. Now come the banderilleros, who with deft footwork attract the bull to them, and just as it charges, they elegantly avoid the rush and stick the barbed banderillas into the same neck muscle. Three, sometimes four, pairs of banderillas (depending on the bull’s bravery or the Matador’s request) are stuck into the bleeding animal, now totally confused, enraged, and weakened by the loss of blood. Now comes the part of the spectacle where the Matador shows his skill and bravery. He uses a short red cape called a muleta, and exposing himself with uncommon fearlessness, he performs his cape work (called faena) until the panting bull is so exhausted that it just stands there, head lowered. This is “the moment of truth.” The Matador takes his sword, which up to now was wrapped in his cape, and he places himself motionless before the bull. He aims his sword and lunges forward with great bravery between the bull’s horns and plunges his sword into the back of the neck of the bull, hopefully avoiding a sudden upward surge of the bull’s head, which could be fatal for him. If the thrust is true, the bull should fall dead on the spot. Sometimes the operation has to be repeated, depending on the bullfighter’s skill (or courage). The bull’s body is then dragged off the arena by teams of mules. If the president and the public deem the fight to have been extraordinary, the bullfighter is awarded the tail and ears. Much noise attends these affairs, and dark-eyed señoritas are seen everywhere, wearing their mantillas, glancing admiringly at the handsome, brave matador.
8. The Toril is the bull-pen, where the fierce bull has been kept in darkness for some time. As the door is lifted, he sees the bright light and rushes out in all his fury.
9. The banderillas are short lances about three feet long, ending in a fish-hook sort of point, that once having penetrated the animal’s flesh are very hard to dislodge. These banderillas are adorned with multi-colored ornaments along the length of the shaft.
10. The letter d in liaison always becomes a t.
11. At the end of the words tromperie, duperie, volerie the scores show a very short grace note intended for the mute e. Tempi vary according to conductors, but in no way should the singer try to sing any mute e.
12. The only word change in this section is les belles, instead of mes belles the time before, when the men were singing alone.
13. Alcalá de Henares is a small village in Spain and is the birthplace of Cervantes.
14. Remember there is no [k] sound when donc is at the end of a sentence!
15. Se mettre en quatre, literally, “go get oneself on all fours,” by extension, “work hard,” “go out of one’s way.”
16. The troop of dragoons to which José belongs wears canary yellow uniforms. In her fury Carmen is also calling him a coward, yellow, like the color of his uniform.
17. In the Alkor-Edition score, Carmen in a mocking way repeats José’s text, albeit in a lower key.
Act III
1. Haut is a word beginning with an “aspirate h,” and therefore, according to perhaps one of the strictest rules, no liaison is allowed from the preceding word. If the liaison were made by mistake, it would change the meaning of the phrase to “in the water,” instead of “above” (en eau [ã‿'no]). Pierre Bernac, in his book The Interpretation of French Song, states that “whenever a liaison changes the meaning of a sentence, or creates confusion, it is better not to elide.” In the case above we have to follow the strict rule that liaison is never made before words beginning with an aspirate h; haut is such a word. Look up h words in a good French dictionary. If the h is preceded by an asterisk or other mark, it signifies aspirate h. If there is no such asterisk then you will know that it is a mute h word, and liaison and élision are safely allowed.
2. There is a rule concerning liaison that nouns in the singular must not be elided to the next word. Since chemin is a noun meaning “path,” we cannot say [ʃœmɛ‿‿'nɛ 'librœ]. However, this rule about “nouns in the singular” has its many exceptions, as we will see, and French singers often make unbelievable mistakes in this regard. Many a time in my career have I seen French people locking horns with each other on matter of liaison. One respected French singer in his book on French song specifically forbids a certain liaison, and in his recording of the same piece he unbelievable makes it!
3. This is a special case where by saying ['krwa‿‿tɔnɛ‿tɔœ] we create a phonetic situation with a comical alliteration of the juxtaposed t’s. This is frowned upon. Therefore the liaison is allowed, but with A SLIGHT, ever so gentle t. The phrase would certainly not suffer if it were made without the t liaison.
4. Make sure to emphasize the two f’s. Un chef fameux.
5. Notice that there is no liaison with a t between sert and rien. You will hear famous French singers making that bad liaison sometimes. Ignore it! In situations where the word ends in rt, rd, rs, it is THE SOUNDED consonant that it goes across and NOT the silent one.
6. No liaison in this case because these are two sentences independent of each other: Prenez les ballots (“Take the bales”) et partons (“and let us leave”).
7. We must avoid a “comical alliteration” with three successive t’s: [tu‿tetɛ]. For this reason we eliminate the middle liaison.
8. Here we have a case of “suspicious” liaison being avoided because the word suis is sung on too long a note to make the liaison with the z acceptable. Also, since Escamillo is not such a common French name, we wouldn’t want someone to think (by making the liaison with the z) that his name was Zescamillo! In Werther we will encounter Albert, a much more common name, and in that instance a liaison will be allowed.
9. Pouvoir y rester, literally “to stay there,” “not to be able to leave,” and by extension, dead.
10. Navaja is a Spanish switchblade knife, usually kept on the belt.
11. Corrida de toros is Spanish for “bullfight.” In Spanish one usually refers to the spectacle as una corrida.
12. The pronouns quelqu’un and chacun do not elide the final n to make a liaison.
ACT IV
1. Old copper Spanish coin, valued at one quarter of the main currency.
2. The quadrille in bullfighting is the “team” that follows the bullfighter, consisting of his picadors, banderilleros, chulos (“helpers”), and other necessary personnel. They parade into the arena amid great fanfare and applause.
3. It is a common sight in eagerly awaited corridas to see the spectators toss their hats and caps in the air in a gesture of excitement.
4. Alguazil (in Spanish, alguacil) is a minor law enforcement officer. In this case it refers to the policeman.
5. The chulos are the bullfighter’s helpers, who usually use their large capes to test the bull’s first reactions after he bounds out of the toril. At this point it is a good time to explain the French pronunciation of some of these Spanish terms. First of all, the word toréador is a French, not Spanish, term, as explained in note 6, Act II. The Spanish word is torero. In Escamillo’s “toreador song,” he says oui les toréros. The final s is not pronounced because the word has become a part of the French language and is accepted pronounced without the final s, as it is in Spanish. However, in the other Spanish terms encountered in this opera, the final s is pronounced: quartos, señoras, caballeros, sombreros, chulos, banderilleros.
6. The men with their banderillas, short barbed lances gaily decorated with ribbons, intended to be harpooned into the bull’s neck muscle.
7. A bullfighter’s outfit is called traje de luces (literally, “a suit of lights”). It is fit close to the body and is lavishly embroidered in colorful patterns that catch the light of the afternoon sun, the time for corridas.
8. These are the men entrusted with humbling the bull’s bravery by digging their picas or lances from atop a well-padded, blindfolded horse. They are usually older men, probably former toreros who have simply become too old to perform as headliners.
9. I have never seen a “handsome” picador. They are usually rather heavy-set and paunchy!
10. By now, after my repeated notes on the art of bullfighting, it is not the flanks of the bull the picadors aim at, but the big neck muscle right behind his head. They do this in order to weaken the muscle and force the bull to keep his head down.
11. This is the name also given the headline matador. Literally it means “the sword,” referring to the curved sword with which only he will kill the bull at “the moment of truth.”
12. Harceler is a word beginning with an “aspirate h,” and therefore no liaison is permitted! Every French dictionary worth its salt will show an aspirate h word with an (*) asterisk before it. If there is no asterisk, then liaison is allowed.
homme *harceler
heure *harpe
haleine *haine
13. The rule says specifically that the [k] sound in donc at the end of a sentence, even though followed by an exclamation sign, is not pronounced! Undoubtedly one hears Carmens (even French Carmens) saying the final [k]. See note 15, Act I. It remains a moot point of French diction, as this phrase is spat out with much vehemence, and maybe a [k] at the end is dramatically more effective.