Bizet was born on 25th October 1838 in Paris. He was registered with the legal name Alexandre-César-Léopold Bizet, but was baptised Georges Bizet and was always known by the latter name. A child prodigy, he entered the prestigious Paris Conservatory of Music a fortnight before his tenth birthday.
In 1857 he shared a prize offered by Jacques Offenbach for a setting of the one-act operetta Le docteur Miracle, and won the Prix de Rome. As per the conditions of the scholarship, he studied in Rome for three years. There, his talent began to mature with such works as the opera Don Procopio. Apart from this stay in Rome, Bizet lived in the Paris area for his entire life.
On his return from Rome, he dedicated himself to composition. In 1863 he composed the opera Les pêcheurs de perles for the Theatre-Lyrique. During this period Bizet also wrote the opera La jolie fille de Perth, his well-known L'arlésienne (written as incidental music for a play), and the piano piece Jeux d'enfants. He also wrote the romantic opera Djamileh, which is often seen as a percursor of Carmen. His first symphony, the symphony in C major, was written at the Paris Conservatory when he was only seventeen years old, evidently as a student assignment. It seems that Bizet completely forgot about it himself, and it was not discovered again until 1935, in the archives of the Conservatory library. Upon its first performance, it was immediately hailed as a junior masterwork and a welcome addition to the early Romantic period repertoire. he symphony is noteworthy for bearing a strong stylistic resemblance to the music of Franz Schubert, whose work was virtually unknown in Paris at that time (with the possible exception of a few of his songs). A second symphony, "Roma" was not completed.
Bizet's best-known work is his 1875 opera, Carmen, which was based on an 1846 novel of the same name by Prosper Mérimée. Influenced by Giuseppe Verdi, Bizet composed the title role in Carmen for a mezzo-soprano. The opera was not an immediate success, and Bizet became despondent over the perceived failure, but praise came from such luminaries as Camille Saint-Saëns, Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky, and Claude Debussy, who recognised its greatness. Their views were prophetic, as the public eventually made Carmen one of the most popular works in operatic history.
Although best known as a composer, Bizet was also a fine pianist, whose playing was praised by no less a judge than Franz Liszt. After Bizet flawlessly sightread a complex piece, Liszt said he considered him one of the three finest pianists in Europe.
Bizet had long suffered from quinsy, a painful inflammation of the tonsils associated with angina, and never got to enjoy Carmen's success. Just a few months after the opera's debut, he died on his sixth wedding anniversary, 3rd June 1875, at the early age of thirty-six, the official cause of death being listed as a failed heart due to "acute articular rheumatism". He was buried in the Père Lachaise Cemetery, Paris.
Les Pecheurs De Perles: "Je Crois Entendre Encore"
Georges Bizet Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Caché sous les palmiers
Sa voix tendre et sonore
Comme un chant de ramiers
O nuit enchanteresse
Divin ravissement
O souvenir charmant,
Folle ivresse, doux reve!
Je crois encor la voir
Entr′ouvrir ses longs voiles
Aux vents tiedes du soir
O nuit enchanteresse
Divin ravissement
O souvenir charmant
Folle ivresse, doux reve!
Charmant Souvenir!
The song "Je Crois Entendre Encore" from Georges Bizet's opera Les Pecheurs De Perles is a romantic aria that expresses the memories of a lover who is recalling a past experience. The singer is reliving a moment shared with a loved one, whose voice is so familiar that he can still hear it among the palm trees. The character is overcome with acute nostalgia, longing for the return of his romantic partner, and wishing to relive these happy memories.
The singer describes the seductive and enticing beauty of the night, using phrases such as "Divin ravissement" and "O nuit enchanteresse" to emphasize the captivating nature of his surroundings. The remembrance of his lover's touch, the smoothness of their embrace, and the sight of her veil fluttering in the breeze all add to his sense of being transported into a dreamy, ideal world.
The lyrics are full of descriptive imagery and vivid descriptions, presenting a lush tropical paradise setting, and creating an air of mysterious and enchanting sensuality. It is a song about longing and yearning, but also about the power and intensity of memory and how it can transport us to a place beyond time and space.
Line by Line Meaning
Je crois entendre encore
I believe I can still hear
Caché sous les palmiers
Hidden beneath the palm trees
Sa voix tendre et sonore
Her tender and sonorous voice
Comme un chant de ramiers
Like the song of the turtledoves
O nuit enchanteresse
Oh enchanting night
Divin ravissement
Divine rapture
O souvenir charmant,
Oh charming memory,
Folle ivresse, doux reve!
Wild intoxication, sweet dream!
Aux clartés des étoiles
In the brightness of the stars
Je crois encor la voir
I believe I can still see her
Entr′ouvrir ses longs voiles
Opening her long veils
Aux vents tiedes du soir
In the tepid winds of the evening
Charmant Souvenir!
Charming memory!
Writer(s): Bizet Georges, Carre Michel Antoine Florentin
Contributed by Katherine D. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@bravosierra165
Je crois entendre encore
Caché sous les palmiers
Sa voix tendre et sonore
Comme un chant de ramiers.
Oh nuit enchanteresse
Divin ravissement
Oh souvenir charmant,
Folle ivresse, doux rêve!
Aux clartés des étoiles
Je crois encor la voir
Entr'ouvrir ses longs voiles
Aux vents tièdes du soir.
Oh nuit enchanteresse
Divin ravissement
Oh souvenir charmant
Folle ivresse, doux rêve!
Charmant Souvenir!
Charmant Souvenir!
@deborahcavel-greant6155
For those who do not speak/understand French but would like to know the meaning of the lyrics. Vanzo's rendition is so sublime as to bring you to tears.
I think I'm still hearing
Hidden under the palm trees
Her tender, sonorous voice
Like a song of woods.
Oh enchanting night
Divine Rapture
Oh lovely memory,
Wild drunkenness, sweet dream!
By the light of the stars
I think I can see it
Parting your long sails
To the warm evening winds.
Oh enchanting night
Divine Rapture
Oh lovely memory
Wild drunkenness, sweet dream!
Lovely memory!
Lovely memory!
@kouklouvahata
Νομίζω πως ακούω ακόμη,
Κρυμμένη κάτω από τα φοινικόδεντρα
Τη στοργική και δυνατή φωνή της
Σαν ένα τραγούδι άγριων περιστεριών
Ώ! Νύχτα ξελογιάστρα
Θεϊκή έκσταση
Ω! γοητευτική ανάμνηση
Τρελή μέθη, γλυκό όνειρο
Στη λάμψη των αστεριών,
Νομίζω πως τη βλέπω ακόμη
Να μισανοίγει τα μακριά της πέπλα,
Στους χλιαρούς ανέμους της νύχτας
Ώ! Νύχτα ξελογιάστρα
Θεϊκή έκσταση
Ω! γοητευτική ανάμνηση
Τρελή μέθη, γλυκό όνειρο
Σαγηνευτική ανάμνηση!
/εξαιρετικό!!!
@myflyingknickers
My mama , such a wonderful woman, showed my brother and I since very young, the love and passion for opera and classical music. This has been her favourite , and I will always remember her love and kindness when listening together to this. I try to play it to my own sons, remembering my mama and hoping that this music will sound in their lives too, so they show it to my grandsons. Love , kindness and music prevail in this world of darkness ❤️
@Rosangela161
Congratulations.
@cristianotaduy8775
❤❤❤
@freemysoles3892
Music like this, passed on from generation to generation, keeps them alive in us. It pulls back the veil and shows us the eternal, undying beauty at the core of things.
@fevzisefaderekoy5794
A divine feeling, congratulations, I appreciate you, God bless you
@leonardoferreirarocha3787
Não tenha dúvidas... .permanece o amor
@bravosierra165
Je crois entendre encore
Caché sous les palmiers
Sa voix tendre et sonore
Comme un chant de ramiers.
Oh nuit enchanteresse
Divin ravissement
Oh souvenir charmant,
Folle ivresse, doux rêve!
Aux clartés des étoiles
Je crois encor la voir
Entr'ouvrir ses longs voiles
Aux vents tièdes du soir.
Oh nuit enchanteresse
Divin ravissement
Oh souvenir charmant
Folle ivresse, doux rêve!
Charmant Souvenir!
Charmant Souvenir!
@maiagrdzelidze9505
Merci pour les paroles,ça me permet de suivre la voix magnifient dans et avec mon cœur 💓
@nathaliepetrigh2276
Oui merci pour les paroles, je les cherchais aussi pour chanter avec.
@bravosierra165
@Maia Grdzélidzé Je t'en prie mademoiselle 🙏