<span class='italic'>Carmen</span>, as Seen and Heard in Victorian Britain

doi:10.1017/9781108674515.012

12 - Carmen, as Seen and Heard in Victorian Britain

from Part II - Across Frontiers

Published online by Cambridge University Press: 18 September 2020

Paul Rodmell

Edited by

Richard Langham Smith and

Clair Rowden

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Richard Langham Smith: Affiliation:
Royal College of Music, London
Clair Rowden: Affiliation:
Cardiff University

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Summary

The British premiere of Carmen in May 1878 was an instant hit with both critics and the opera-going public, who were entranced by Bizet’s music and Minnie Hauk’s representation of the title role. This chapter focuses on the reception of Hauk’s performances, and on representations of Carmen by her immediate successors, Zelia Trebelli, Emily Soldene and Selina Dolaro. In an era when operatic heroines were expected by British audiences to be meek, virtuous and adoring, Carmen’s passion and sensuality subverted expectations, posing challenges for the singers who played her and redefining the character of the prima donna for Victorian audiences.

Keywords

Bizet Carmen Minnie Hauk Zelia Trebelli Emily Soldene James Mapleson reception London characterisation prima donna femininity Great Britain

Type: Chapter
Information: Carmen Abroad
Bizet's Opera on the Global Stage
, pp. 186 - 199

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108674515.012 [Opens in a new window]

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Print publication year: 2020

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References

Newspapers and Periodical Literature

The Academy

The Athenaeum

The Birmingham Daily Post

The Daily Telegraph

The Era

The Examiner

The Graphic

The Illustrated London News

The Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic News

The Morning Post

The Musical World

The Orchestra

The Standard

General Bibliography

Carmen. The original libretto by H. Meilhac and L. Halévy. London, J. Miles, 1878.Google Scholar

Gänzl, Kurt. Emily Soldene: In Search of a Singer, 2 vols. Wellington, NZ, Steele Roberts, 2007.Google Scholar

Hollingshead, John. Gaiety Chronicles. London, A. Constable, 1898.Google Scholar

Klein, Herman. The Golden Age of Opera. London, G. Routledge & Sons, 1933.Google Scholar

Mapleson, James Henry. The Mapleson Memoirs, 2 vols. Chicago, Belford, Clarke, 1888.Google Scholar

Rodmell, Paul. French Music in Britain in the Nineteenth Century. Abingdon, Routledge, forthcoming.Google Scholar

Rutherford, Susan. The Prima Donna and Opera, 1815–1930. Cambridge,Cambridge University Press, 2006.Google Scholar

Senelick, Laurence. Jacques Offenbach and the Making of Modern Culture. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2017.CrossRef Google Scholar