Habanera (aria)

The "Habanera" is an aria from the opera "Carmen" by Georges Bizet, adapted [Bizet thought he was using a popular tune Fact|date=November 2007] from the habanera "El Arreglito" originally composed by Sebastián Yradier. [Yradier is better known for another habanera called "La Paloma".] The song is also sometimes known by its first two lines, "L'amour est un oiseau rebelle que nul ne peut apprivoiser". [Love is a rebellious bird that nothing can tame] Its melody, among the most famous in the Western musical tradition, is based on a descending chromatic scale followed by variants of the same phrase in first the minor and then the major key, corresponding with the vicissitudes of love expressed in the lyrics. In live performances, after singing the concluding words of the song ("prends garde à toi!"), [Watch out!] Carmen tosses a flower to Don José. Later on, in the celebrated Flower Song, ["La fleur que tu m'avais jetée" (the flower which you had thrown me)] Don José tells how he treasured the flower while in prison.

Libretto

Notes

ee also

* Habanera for a discussion of the history of the habanera.

External links

* [http://www.aria-database.com/translations/carmen01_habanera.txt Text and translation] at Aria-Database.com. The translation is a metrical one that tries to preserve the rhythm and meter of the original over nuance of meaning. For instance, the phrase "prends garde à toi!" is translated there as "keep guard of yourself", whereas a more direct translation might be simply "watch out!".
*
* [http://www.namipuk.com/piano_music/improvisation/carmen_habanera A piano solo version of the song "Habanera"]