Monaco 1975 - Carmen: Act IV

They say variety is the spice of life! So to make the month of May nice and spicy I have dedicated the entire month to the four stamp 1975 Monaco series celebrating the 100th anniversary of the opera Carmen. The set was issued on 13 May and it was designed and engraved by Albert Decaris. Since Carmen is in four acts and each of these acts has been illustrated with its own stamp, each week's blog has been a "one act wonder" so to speak. This week it is time for Act IV. The finale! If you wish to review any or all of the story so far, here are the links to each Act of the opera. Act I. Act II. Act III.

As I have mentioned in the previous three blogs dedicated to this opera, Carmen is a tale of seduction, passion, infidelity, jealousy and murder. It was first performed at the Opéra-Comique in Paris on 3 March 1875. It was considered quite scandalous for its time! 

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Act III ended with José heading back down to the town after having been convinced that his mother is ill and needs him. But before he leaves he tries to prevent Carmen from rushing off into the arms of Escamillo. Let's see how that panned out!

ACT IV

The lights come on. We are in the square in front of the bull-fighting arena at Seville, Spain c. 1920. It is the day of the bull-fighting contest.

The square is jam-packed with people. Merchants are crying their wares. Gypsies are performing for the crowds. It's party-time! The attention soon focuses on the two friends of Carmen, Frasquia and Mercédès. They are talking to the soldier, Zuniga (he is the guy José has had a couple of entanglements with). They tell him that Carmen is now with Escamillo.

Then the bull-fighters arrive and the crowd goes wild. Carmen is indeed with Escamillo. They openly express their love in front of the crowd. Carmen cries out that she has never loved anyone as much as Escamillo.

As Escamillo goes into the arena surrounded by screaming fans, Frasquita pulls Carmen aside and warns her that José is somewhere in the crowd. Carmen looks at her and blows her off. She turns, about to enter the arena, when José appears and grabs her. He is desperate. She tries to pull away but he begs her to stay with him. He says that they can move away and have a new life together. If only she will love him back. She pauses, perhaps considering the request. But then she tells him quite bluntly that she does not love him at all. 

Suddenly cheers erupt from the arena in the background. Carmen desperately wants to go in, but José, relentless, won't let her. He begs her yet one more time. This time Carmen replies with a scornful rebuke. José becomes incensed. Then, as the crowds in the arena are chanting the name "Escamillo" José pulls out a knife and plunges it into Carmen's heart (I am assuming heart!). As Carmen drops to the ground dead, a chorus of the "Toreador Song" can be heard in the background.

José kneels over the body of Carmen, declaring his guilt over her murder, as the crowds pour out of the arena. We are then left to ponder the fate of José. Is he punished by the law for his deed? Does Escamillo take revenge on the killer of his lover? Or does José flee to live out the rest of his life in guilt-ridden torment? 

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Time to reveal the Act IV - and final - stamp!

What a beautiful stamp! In he foreground we see Carmen and Escamillo in a lovers' embrace. While off to the right, we see José staring them down, perhaps plotting some way of winning back the love of Carmen? Just check out the engraved detail of Carmen's dress. Not to mention the gorgeously-rendered bull-fighting arena in the background. Just...Wow!

So, there you have it. The four Acts of Carmen and the corresponding stamps. What an amazing set! Bravo, Albert Decaris! A superlative polyptych piece of art. Which stamp was your favourite? I really can't decide...

Until next time...

Monaco 1975 - Carmen: Act III

Carmen is an opera that involves seduction, passion, infidelity, jealousy and murder. It was first performed at the Opéra-Comique in Paris on 3 March 1875. It was considered quite scandalous for its time, and the reviews and audience reactions were far from positive. In fact, the opera was more popular overseas. and it wasn't revived in Paris until 1883, eight years after its initial release.

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On 13 May 1975 Monaco issued a set of four stamps to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the premiere of the opera, Carmen. This beautiful set of stamps was designed and engraved by Albert Decaris. Each stamp represents one of the four Acts of the opera. In the last couple of blogs we were introduced to Carmen with an in-depth look at Act I and Act II of the opera and their related stamps. Click HERE to read about Act I. And HERE for Act II.

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Act II ended with Carmen, José, and a couple of smugglers fleeing the Inn together to get away from the senior officer with whom José had just fought. So what will happen to the runaways...?

ACT III

The lights come on. We are deep in the wilds of the mountains near Seville, Spain c. 1920. It is night time.

Carmen, a couple of her friends, José, and the smugglers are travelling further into the mountains. At some point during the journey, Carmen has become bored with the company of José. Hoping to be rid of him she starts taunting him and telling him to go back to the village. But he knows he can't. After fighting a superior officer, he would be charged immediately.

They find a spot to hide. Carmen's friends, Frasquita and Mercédès, pull out a set of fortune-telling cards to kill some time. Carmen joins them, they read her fortune. Carmen is stunned when they tell her that the cards foresee hers and José's deaths. Watching the women, the smugglers get an idea. They decide to take the women down into the town to the customs officials and have them use their feminine charms on them in order to move their contraband. They leave José there alone with the stash.

Not long after, José's sweetheart, Micaela (who we met in Act I), comes into the mountains. She spots José before he sees her. She is about to approach him when she hears him fire his gun. She hides behind some rocks, thinking he might be shooting at her. But she soon finds out that he actually is shooting at a man approaching. The man resolves from the shadows. It is Escamillo, the toreador. José, recognising the toreador, relaxes his guard and the two start chatting. 

However, the atmosphere soon becomes tense when Escamillo starts talking about a woman he has fallen for, a woman named, Carmen. And worse still Escamillo says that she seems infatuated with some common soldier. He has no idea the soldier is José! Enraged, José challenges him to a knife fight. But Escamillo merely defends himself and doesn't fight back. Now José is really annoyed! He comes at the bullfighter again. Escamillo manages to get the better of him, but lets him go. He says he fights bulls not men! José attacks him for a third time. This time Escamillo's knife breaks. José has a chance...

...but then Carmen reappears with the smugglers. Escamillo takes the opportunity to leave. But before he does, he invites Carmen and the smugglers to his next bullfight in Seville. As Escamillo departs, Micaela is spotted hiding in the rocks. She comes out and begs José to return home with her as his mother is very sick. Carmen mocks him, telling him to run along home. After some more begging by Micaela, José agrees to go, but he promises Carmen he will return to her.

As José starts to walk off, the voice of Escamillo singing the toreador song can be heard. Carmen's eyes light up and she makes to dash off to find him. But José turns around and stops her from leaving...

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Time for the Act III stamp.

In this lovely engraving Decaris has decided to capture the moment when Micaela starts begging José to return home with her. Micaela's dress has been picked out n stunning green. And the sash around José's waist is also green, illustrating their connection. 

In this image we can clearly see José's reluctance to leave with Micaela by his posture. And to the left we see Carmen, standing there, mocking him. If you look closely you see the rose José gave her between her breasts. Perhaps taunting José. Again, a splendid composition!

Until next time... 

Monaco 1975 - Carmen: Act II

Carmen is an opera that involves seduction, passion, infidelity, jealousy and murder. It was first performed at the Opéra-Comique in Paris on 3 March 1875. It was considered quite scandalous for its time, and the reviews and audience reactions were far from positive. In fact, the opera was more popular overseas. and it wasn't revived in Paris until 1883, eight years after its initial release.

An Early Carmen Poster

On 13 May 1975 Monaco issued a set of four stamps to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the premiere of the opera, Carmen. This beautiful set of stamps was designed and engraved by Albert Decaris. Each stamp represents one of the four Acts of the opera. In last week's blog we were introduced to Carmen with an in-depth look at Act I and the first stamp in the set. Click HERE to read about Act I.

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Act I ended with Carmen tricking a soldier named, José Morales, to let her go after she had attacked a workmate with a knife. So what next? Let the curtain rise for...

ACT II

The lights come on. We are in an Inn owned by Lillas Pastia, in Seville, Spain c.1820. Two months have elapsed since the events of Act I.

Carmen is partying at the Inn with some friends and entertaining the soldiers present. One of the soldiers is Zuniga, the officer who arrested Carmen in Act I for wielding the knife. He approaches Carmen and tells her that José has just been released from his two month imprisonment for letting her go. She is delighted at this news! Probably because she starts thinking how she can further manipulate the poor guy.

Suddenly there is noise outside as a procession approaches, announcing the arrival of the toreador, Escamillo. Toreador's were like rock-stars back then. Escamillo enters and announces himself with the "Toreador Song". He grabs a drink and makes a toast: Votre toast, je peux vous le rendre! Then he sees Carmen and makes a beeline for her. But Carmen ignores him.

Then the owner of the Inn, Lillas Pastia, gets rid of the crowds and the soldiers. Only Carmen and her two friends remain. They are chatting, when two shady-looking characters enter. These guys are smugglers. They tell Carmen and her friends that they want to get rid of some contraband they just got their hands on. Carmen isn't interested, but her two friends are. Carmen is only interested in seeing José again. The smugglers give up and leave.

A short time later, José turns up. Carmen immediately launches into a private exotic dance just for him. Je vais danser en votre honneur (I will dance in your honour). But Carmen's intimate dance is rudely interrupted by the bugle call from the soldier barracks. José turns to leave, which angers Carmen. She obviously thinks he doesn't really like her after all. But José produces the rose that Carmen had thrown at his feet in Act I. This romantic act is seemingly not enough to impress Carmen. She mocks him, and tells him that the only way she will possibly believe him is if he runs away with her, abandoning his military post. José flatly refuses. He doesn't want to desert.

He is about to leave and return to the barracks when his officer, Zuniga, returns. Zuniga obviously has the wrong idea, thinking that José is planning to run away with Carmen. The two men fight. During the fight, the smugglers return and separate the pair. Unfortunately, José has now dug himself a grave by assaulting a superior officer. He now has no choice but to flee the scene with Carmen and go into hiding. They quickly leave the Inn with the two smugglers...

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Now it is time to reveal the stamp for Act II.

This lovely stamp, with its sumptuous use of deep red, draws us into the Inn of Lillas Pastia. The main focus of the design is Escamillo, the toreador, singing to Carmen and her friends. He is in red. Decaris has placed bull heads in the top corners of the design to remind us of Escamillo's bull-fighting prowess. These are also in red. In the background to the left we see another figure in red. This is José. Lurking, waiting to enter the scene. Much like the toreador was lurking off to the side in the first stamp. Decaris' use of red to highlight the central themes of the Act is a stroke of genius.

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The attention to detail in this stamp is incredible. Especially striking are the women's costumes.

Until next time...

Monaco 1975 - Carmen: Act I

A story of seduction, passion, infidelity, jealousy and murder. The essential ingredients of a good crime thriller. But what about an opera? Surely an opera with such themes would be scandalous! Well, such an opera does exist, and, yes. when first performed it was quite the scandal. This opera was Carmen.

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Carmen is an opera presented in four acts. (I intend to replicate this four act structure for my Carmen blog series, but more on that later). The opera was composed by Georges Bizet, a French composer. The libretto of Carmen was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, The libretto is basically the text portion of an opera. The libretto for Carmen was based on a novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. 

Carmen was first performed at the Opéra-Comique in Paris on 3 March 1875. The reviews and audience reactions were far from positive. In fact, the opera was more popular overseas. and it wasn't revived in Paris until 1883, eight years after its initial release. 

Opening Night Poster

So what was this seemingly controversial opera about? The story is set in southern Spain, and it focuses on a young soldier by the name of José Moralès. At the beginning of the story José seems happy; he has a steady job, and he is sharing his life with his childhood sweetheart. That is until Carmen enters the picture. Carmen is a gypsy with fiery passions. She seduces José, who falls for her charms. Unfortunately like many love-struck young men in stories, he abandons his life to be with Carmen. But Carmen is just using him. She in turn abandons José and turns her attention to an attractive toreador, Escamillio. In a fit of jealous rage, José kills Carmen. If he can't have her love, no one can! Carmen's tragic death actually takes place on-stage. Slaying your main character is a risky strategy. Probably one of the main reasons for the lack-lustre reviews upon its premiere in 1875.  

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On 13 May 1975 Monaco issued a set of four stamps to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the premiere of the opera, Carmen. This beautiful set of stamps was designed and engraved by Albert Decaris. Each stamp represents one of the four Acts of the opera. Since this set was issued in May and it now is May, I have decided to do something a little different this time around. Instead of showing all four gorgeous stamps at once, I am going to do them one Act at a time. That will amount to one Act each week for the month. So without further ado, let the curtain rise for...

ACT I

The lights come on. We are in a square, in Seville, Spain c.1820. To the right, we can see a door to the tobacco factory.  To  the left, we see a guardhouse. And at the rear of the stage there is a bridge.

There is a small group of soldiers standing about, chatting with each other in the square, while waiting for the changing of the guard. A woman approaches, named Micaëla. She asks after José Moralès. They tell her he will arrive with the change of guard. She leaves, promising to return later. Then the new guard arrives, and with them José Moralès.

Shortly after this the cigarette factory bell rings, and a large group of young women emerge. One of the women is Carmen. She approaches the soldiers and starts singing L'amour est un oiseau rebelle (Love is a rebellious bird). A song designed to inflame their passions. Many of the men start begging to be her lover. José Moralès is not one of the men. But she chooses José Moralès by throwing a rose at his feet. He is annoyed with her and doesn't respond. If only he had stuck to his guns!

Then things start to heat up a bit. The women go back to the cigarette factory. Micaëla returns to find José. She gives him a letter and a kiss from his mother. He says, "Parle-moi de ma mère!" (Tell me about my mother). In the letter, his mother tells him to return home and marry Micaëla so they can live happily ever after. He is about to say yes...

When there is a sudden commotion at the cigarette factory. An officer emerges with a very angry Carmen. He tells José that she attacked another woman with a knife. Carmen cries out, "Coupe moi. Brûle-moi!" (Cut me. Burn me). José is ordered to bind her hands and take her to the prison. 

After everyone leaves, Carmen seizes the opportunity to sing to José about what it would be like to spend a passion-filled night with her, He is bewitched by her. Spellbound, he unties her bonds. Then she pushes him to the ground, throws her head back in laughter, and runs away. Poor José is then arrested for dereliction of duty.

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Now we come to the stamp. Decaris has captured the theme of Act I beautifully. 

In the background we can make out the sets. The factory. The guardhouse. And the bridge. 

In the foreground we see Carmen flirting with José Moralès. She is smoking a cigarette to suggest of being a worker in the cigarette factory. And if we look closely we can see the rose in Carmen's mouth, ready to be thrown at José's feet. 

And despite the fact that the toreador has yet to enter the story, Decaris has decided to depict him off to the right, looming, yet to be engaged. But he is there. A reminder of the love triangle to come. 

Stay tuned for Act II next week!

Until then....