Georges Bizet, born Alexandre César Léopold Bizet, was a French composer of the romantic era who is best known for his operas. He was also noted to be an excellent pianist, though he never capitalized on this skill and rarely performed in public. He had a brilliant student career while studying at the Conservatoire de Paris and won many prizes, such as the Prix de Rome in 1857. His actual career began after returning to Paris after spending three years in Italy. Unfortunately, his career’s early years were full of pitfalls and failures. Many of his projects were cancelled and the only two of his operas to reach the stage, Les pêcheurs de perles and La jolie fille de Perth, were immediately successful.
Bizet served in the National Guard during the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-1871. After returning home from the war, he had little success with his one-act opera Djamileh, but an orchestral suite derived from his incidental music to Alphonse Daudet's play L'Arlésienne was instantly popular. The production of his final opera, Carmen, was heavily delayed because he feared that its themes of betrayal and murder would offend audiences. When it finally released on March 3, 1875, Bizet was convinced that the work was a failure. He died of a heart attack three months later. Ironically, Carmen is now recognized as Bizet’s most successful opera.