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• Introduction
• Synopsis
• In focus / by William Berger
• Program note / by Hugh Macdonald
• Carmen
• Notes / by Nico Castel.

This guide has articles which describe the genesis of the opera, its initial failure at its premiere and the various versions in which it went on to conquer the opera stages of Europe and the USA. There are also articles which analyse its appeal, which explore its music and which detail its extensive performance history. The guide has sixteen pages of illustrations, a musical thematic guide, the full libretto and English translation (in both the dialogue and recitative versions), a discography, bibliography, DVD and website guides.
(source: Nielsen Book Data)

• Introduction-- The Story of the Opera-- The Libretto-- Notes on the Performance.
• (source: Nielsen Book Data)

Georges Bizet's final opera, "Carmen", has become one of the best-known plots with the most memorable of music, despite its initial rejection by Paris critics following its "scandalous" 1875 premiere at the Opera-Comique, a theatre known for works of a lighter flavour. Basing their work on Prosper Merimee's novella, librettists Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halevy have fashioned a timeless story of love, jealousy, and violence in the Spanish city of Seville, all set into motion by Carmen, a seductive, free-spirited femme fatale. The artist Davide Pizzigoni has created a stage for the imagination with richly allusive illustrations that capture the exotic spirit of the Spanish setting. J.D. McClatchy's fluid translation of the libretto allows the listener full appreciation of Bizet's swift and lustrous score.
(source: Nielsen Book Data)