Other Cultural Perspectives in this Era:
9 : 10 : 11 : 12 : 13

The Lure of Spain
Cultural Perspective 12

Introduction  :   Overview   :   Issues  :   Projects   :   Links

The French composer Georges Bizet's opera Carmen was described in the text as an example of exoticism. But what exactly did Bizet find exotic about this story (based on a tale by French writer Prosper Mérimée) and its Spanish setting? And how does his music for this opera fire the listener's imagination with thoughts of far-off lands?

In Carmen, Bizet romanticized Gypsy (or Romany) culture, which he presents through a title character whose moral values—or lack of them—shocked nineteenth-century audiences. The libretto echoes the theme of naturalism, a movement led by the French novelist Émile Zola (1840–1902) that focused on the life of the lower classes and their suffering. Carmen and her friends, a band of Gypsy smugglers, fall far short of the standards of middle-class virtue. But they are seen against the exotic allure of Spain, and Bizet's music invests them with a certain human dignity. The music for Carmen imitates the songs and dances of the Spanish Gypsies, a style often referred to as flamenco. Typical of southern Spain, flamenco music is actually a variety of different dance songs, most performed to the accompaniment of a strummed guitar, with hand clapping, foot stomping, and finger snapping. One type of flamenco music heard in Carmen is the seguidilla, a dance in moderate triple meter that is sung to a fixed poetic verse form. Flamenco performances often begin with shouts of encouragement from the audience, followed by a rhapsodic guitar introduction that sets the mood for the dancers. Distinctive features include a hoarse, nasal vocal quality and a freely melismatic style of singing, both influences of Arab music in southern Spain. Some styles of flamenco also make use of castanets, a percussion instrument consisting of two shell-shaped pieces of wood clapped together in one hand. Today, flamenco remains a vibrant and spectacular entertainment that reflects the interpenetration of other folk and popular genres.

But Bizet also looked to a more distant locale in his music. Carmen's famous aria—the Habanera, which we will study—is based on a Cuban dance form. A habanera is a slow dance in duple meter whose name reflects its origin in Havana. It gained popularity in nineteenth-century Europe and Latin America, and greatly influenced the Argentine tango, a dance with sudden rhythmic movements performed by couples in a tight embrace. The tango has enjoyed popularity for some years as a ballroom dance, and was recently revived in a new Broadway show, Forever Tango (1997), which chronicles the colorful history of the dance.
back to top

Overview:
This Cultural Perspective explores an important aspect of nineteenth-century Romanticism—the love of the exotic. Just as nationalist music aroused the patriotic spirit, exoticism fueled the audience's interest in the far-off and strange. The essay focuses on George Bizet's Carmen, showing how such pieces also drew on people's fascination with the forbidden pleasures and excitement of "exotic" life.

Issues:
Interest in another culture is often a two-edged sword. Sometimes we romanticize that culture and idealize many aspects of it (even negative ones) and sometimes our view deteriorates into stereotypes. When we look at works like Bizet's Carmen, we face some interesting questions:

Projects:
The West's fascination with Spain and the Gypsy culture did not end with Carmen. In fact, it only intensified with the mixing of Anglo and Hispanic cultures in the Americas. One modern reflection of this is the continuing popularity of Hispanic dances in this country, most notably the Tango and Flamenco. The links below will lead you to more information on these two forms.

Links:

back to top