Research On The Performance Of Micaela In The Opera Carmen

Carmen, composed by Bizet, is one of the finest masterpieces in the history of western opera. Thanks to the complex and dramatic development of the story which was set in an intriguing era, coupled with its unique Spanish-music-inspired beautiful arias and its harmonic orchestration, this piece has become one the most performed bestsellers worldwide in the past century. Every single character in Carmen is vivid and distinctive, making the plot especially enchanting. Micaela is the focus of my research. I start with the discussion on her importance in this opera piece, which is then followed by the analysis of the sessions and arias featuring Micaela. Through the local and global lenses, I aim to provide the readers with an all-dimensional analysis of her performance and arias, with the intent to present a study on Micaela’s character with great depth.My dissertation is divided into four chapters. Chapter One begins with an introduction to Bizet, his major works and the uniqueness of Carmen. In Chapter Two, a comparison is carried out between Carmen, the original novel and the opera adaptation, after that the artistic value of Micaela, the added character in the opera version is discussed. In Chapter Three I present the sessions featuring Micaela together with relevant plot, and analyzed the unique musical character of Micaela as a focal point. Chapter Four is the key chapter of this study. Here I discuss the performance of Micaela within the context of the whole piece. Amongst all sections of this chapter, the fourth is the most crucial -- I aim to analyse in details the two important arias of this character based on my own performance experience as Micaela.