HOUSE OF BIZET GEORGE
The house where Georges Bizet lived in Bougival from 1874 to 1875.
After devoting himself to L'Arlésienne (1872) and Patrie, and then sketching out Le Cid, composer Georges Bizet decided to take a rest in Bougival, where he had rented this house on the banks of the Seine a few months earlier. He lived there from 1874 to 1875, and finished writing the 1,200 manuscript pages of the orchestration for Carmen, commissioned by the Opéra-Comique in 1870. It was also in this house that he died of a heart attack on June 3, 1875, at the age of 36, three months to the day after the dramatic failure of the first performance of the work - one of the most performed operas in the world today.
Today, following the mobilization of private individuals and public authorities, a wide-ranging reflection is underway on the future of this house - which could be transformed into a major cultural center, with the support of numerous personalities such as Placido Domingo. A commemorative plaque in tribute to the talented musician has been affixed to the wall of the magnificent residence since 1912, and a glance at the exterior façade on the Seine side will undoubtedly delight you! In 2018, a crowdfunding campaign was launched to buy back and restore the house and create the "Carmen" space destined to become part of Bougival's future cultural, scientific and tourist hub: the Centre Européen de Musique (CEM). Since then, the house has been the property of the Yvelines département, and the premises are awaiting restoration.
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