Great Moments in Opera Bizets Habanera From Carmen

The role of the gypsy girl Carmen from Bizets opera by the same name is arguably the most famous ever written for a mezzo-soprano. The story of Carmen being a tragic love story between the sexually alluring Carmen and a simple corporal by the name of "Don Jose".

As for the story of Carmen, it starts near a tobacco factory in Seville where a young lady by the name of Michaela is looking for Don Jose with a message from his mother that she wants him to marry Michaela. Don Jose for his part more to render joy to his mother agrees with her decision.

It however is at that point that the girls from the tobacco factory go out on their break, to enjoy the day as well as flirt with the soldiers from the nearby army barracks where Don Jose happens to be stationed. It is a fine lovely day and all is as usual with the soldiers trying to make on impression on the women who work at the tobacco factory yet there is one whose absence many have not overlooked. Carmen being the one who many of the soldiers were waiting to see as they shout "ou est la Carmencita?" (where is Carmen) in the hope that she might not disappoint by making her presence felt among them.

It is however as all are waiting and crying out for Carmen, that she makes a stunning appearance in all her raw gypsy sexuality that so many of the men at the nearby fort desire. Carmen being one who is young with a body which though not thin exhibits strong traits of sex appeal in its plumpness that includes large breasts along with legs and hips that make her an object of stare specially when she walks about all the soldiers; whom she knows all too well are at her disposal should she choose to but show interest in one of them. Carmen however makes it clear that she is not interested as she before beginning her aria Habanera answers the question "when will you love us?" with the words "I dont know when but not today that is for sure.

It is then with the eyes of all on her as she sways her body to the sound of the music which seems to go back and forth; almost as seductively as Carmen herself that she begins by announcing "le amour est infant de boheme que ma jamais jamais connu de loi". This meaning "love is a child of gypsies which has never known the rule of law". Carmen at that moment knowing she has the attention as well as sexual desires of all trained on her, continues her almost speech about love by adding "if you love me I do not love you but if I were to love you then be on your guard". Carmen however is also aware that Don Jose is not paying attention to her which makes her more willing to draw the lust from him she has from all the rest that be about. This factor being what makes Carmen all the more determined to release all of her female passion, as she sings this aria while expressing equally as much with her body and naturally coquette ways which not only make Don Jose fall madly in love but see her as a sorceress.

The aria "Habanera" is one of the sexiest ever composed, as it is one that not only because of its lyrics but melody flirts with its viewers, as if provoking them yet teasing them with what is not for them. This an aria that not only requires a singer to be able to sing as a mezzo-soprano but have the temperament of a woman like Carmen; who in her aggression is capable of putting fear even in to the most intrepid of seducers. She being one who is all too carefree to the point of ridiculing all convention as she lives by her own rules and nobody elses.

As for my personal opinion (though many have sung "Habanera") it is Angela Gheorghiu whose performance truly captures the spirit of Carmen both with her voice as well as the essence of her womanhood which lends itself perfectly toward playing this woman capable of bringing chills to almost any male she aim her femininity at. This perhaps being Gheorghius capricious Latin nature along with eyes that seem to be playing with her audience as well as those who should be opposite her on stage. Gheorghiu however despite her wonderful interpretation of "Habanera" has never performed all of the opera Carmen. As she has limited herself to only this aria yet I am most hopeful of one day seeing her take on the whole role in what is bound to be another great performance by my favorite all time diva.

As for the aria "Habanera" though I have heard it many times through out the years in several films as well as commercials; I will never forget the first time my ears picked up on it which was on "The Odd Couple". This occasion in an episode in which a shy coworker of Oscars is asked by Felix to play the part of Carmen in a small production.

Read More..

8 Tips For Writing Great Song Lyrics

Anyone can write good song lyrics. Sometimes I find myself whistling or humming catchy words that stick in my mind. Other times, I may jot down a few lines of poetry which could easily be turned into lyrics. Experts from the fields of music, songwriting and even psychology all agree this spontaneous childlike space is where most creative ideas are born. Sometimes our best work just happens when we dont have any expectations.

Take the song "Puff The Magic Dragon." It started out as a poem written by Leonard Lipton. While at Cornell, Lipton was a friend with a housemate of Peter Yarrow. In 1959 he wrote a poem about Jackie Paper who played with his imaginary dragon named Puff at a place near the sea called Honalee. Although Lipton forgot about the poem, Yarrow found it and put it to music. Yarrow began playing the song with his friends Paul Stookey and Mary Travers and the rest is history.

Even though spontaneity is a good starting point for lyric, most professionals follow a few basic rules.

1 Make The Storyline Consistent: "In Puff The Magic Dragon", Jackie Paper grows up, loses interest in his imaginary friend who "sadly slipped into his cave." If Lipton had ended his poem by talking about why he liked golf over tennis for example, the story would have fallen apart and most likely not caught the eye of Peter Yarrow.

2 Have A Catchy Title: Select a title that not only sets the scene for your storyline, but has a catchy sound to it. A few good titles that come to mind are: Feelings, White Christmas, A Dollar In My Jeans, Lady, Lady Lay, El Paso, I Love How You Love Me, Until Its Time For You To Go, Fever, Suspicious Minds, My
Way . . . the list goes on.

3 Use A Well-Defined Rhyming Pattern: Songwriters often speak of lyrics in terms of AB AB, AA BB or some other form. What they mean by this is that the last word in certain lines rhythm. Take a look at the lyrics to "Puff The Magic Dragon." In the first line, Lipton matched "sea" with "Honah-Lee" on the A line and "Puff" and "stuff" on the B line. This pattern is pleasing to the ear. [For a more elaborate discussion of lyric forms, take at any good book on songwriting.]

4 Use Inner Rhythms As Long As They Dont Break Up The Story Line: An inner rhythm is simply rhyming words in the middle as well as the last word of the line. Although this makes the line more interesting and pleasing to the ear, a mistake beginning songwriters often make is to force an inner rhythm whose meaning

doesnt exactly fit the story line.

5 Repeat Certain Words To Hook Your Listener: The concept of a "hook" is used in songs, stories, books, plays and movie plots. It is a word or two or theme idea that grabs the listener or viewers attention and is repeated again and again throughout the work. In songs, the hooks is often times also found in the title. Take a look at the song "Feelings" by Albert Morris. How many times does the word "feelings" appear in the title and lyrics?

6 Learn From The Masters: Browse through songbooks at your local music store or check some out of the public library. You can bet great songwriters like Lennon and McCartney, James Taylor, Jim Croce, Paul Simon and Bob Dylan either incorporate these rules into their songs or decide to consciously break them because they have mastered basic lyric writing principles.

7 Corroborate With People At Your Same Or Better Skill Level: Theres a reason why many of the worlds most memorable songs were written by songwriting teams. The advent of the worldwide web has made it easy to meet and share your ideas and projects with individuals and also join groups like the Nashville Songwriters Association of America.

8 Be Original, Have Fun And Keep On Writing!!!

Read More..