t
act, is dramatically ludicrous, but the music is brilliant and
captivating, and the ghost scene, earlier in the opera, is powerful and
effective. Thomas employs several charming old Scandinavian tunes in the
course of the work, which give a clever tinge of local colour to the
score.

With Bizet (1838-1875), the influence of Wagner is felt in French music
for the first time. 'Les Pecheurs de Perles' (1863), his first work,
follows traditional models pretty closely for the most part, and though
containing music of charm and originality, does not, of course,
represent Bizet's genius in its most characteristic aspects. It tells
the story of the love of two Cingalese pearl-fishers for the priestess
Leila. There are only three characters in the piece, and very little
incident. The score owes a good deal to Felicien David's 'Le Desert,'
but there is a dramatic force about several scenes which foreshadows the
power and variety of 'Carmen.' 'La Jolie Fille de Perth' (1867), is to a
great extent a tribute to the powerful influence of Verdi. It is a
tuneful and effective work, but cannot be called an advance on 'Les
Pecheurs de Perles,' In 'Djamileh' (1872), we find the real Bizet for
the first time. The story tells of the salvation of a world-wearied
youth, who is won back to life by the love and devotion of his slave. It
is a clever study in Oriental colour, but has little dramatic value,
though it was thought very advanced at the time of its production. In
1875, the year of Bizet's death, 'Carmen' was produced. The libretto is
founded upon Merimee's famous novel. Carmen, a sensual and passionate
gipsy girl, is arrested for stabbing one of her comrades in a cigarette
manufactory at Seville. She exercises all her powers of fascination upon
the soldier, Jose by name, who is told off to guard her, and succeeds in
persuading him to connive at her escape. For this offence he is
imprisoned for a month, but Carmen contrives to communicate with him in
gaol, and at the expiration of his sentence he meets her once more in an
inn at the outskirts of the town. The passionate animalism of the gipsy
completely captivates him, and forgetting Micaela, the country damsel to
whom he is betrothed, he yields himself entirely to Carmen's
fascinations. He quarrels with one of his officers about her, and to
escape punishment flies with Carmen to join a band of smugglers in the
mountains. Carmen's capricious affection for Jose soon dies out, and she