Georges Bizet
Étienne Carjat, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Like many composers of his age, Georges Bizet was a child prodigy. Born in Paris in 1833, he learned to play the piano from his mother and was entered into the Paris Conservatory at the age of 9 (the minimum age for entry normally being 10.) While there, he was mentored by Charles Gounod and befriended Camille Saint-Saëns, both of whom became very influential in the French musical scene.

After winning a youth composition contest organized by Jacques Offenbach, he began to mingle with Parisian artistic society and was an acquaintance of Gioachino Rossini. In 1857, Bizet won the "Prix de Rome" and moved to Rome to study and compose. However, his music never met with the success for which he hoped, and his first two operas, "The Pearl Fishers" and "La Jolie Fille de Perth," failed to achieve revivals or secure financial stability for the composer.

Returning to Paris, he attended the premier of Tannhäuser in 1861, and became a lifelong fan of Richard Wagner, which earned him occasional snubbing from other Parisians. However, that same year, he met Franz Liszt, who was impressed by Bizet's piano playing skills.

In 1869, Bizet married Geneviève Halévy, the daughter of another composer, against her family's wishes, as they did not consider Bizet financially stable enough to support her. They had a son, Jacques, although their marriage may have been occasionally turbulent, and Bizet may have fathered a child with the family housekeeper.

During the Franco-Prussian War, Bizet fought in the National Guard. Bizet left Paris after France's swift defeat at the hands of Otto von Bismarck and the new German Empire. Emperor Napoléon III abdicated and the Third Republic was set up as the new French government. The City of Paris, however, refused to recognize the new French government, establishing the Paris Commune, taking hostages and declaring independence from the rest of the country. After two months, the Paris Commune was defeated by the French Army.

Bizet returned to Paris and produced what would become his most famous opera, "Carmen," in 1875. However, it was not well received at first, primarily due to the rampant immorality of the characters, especially the titular lead, and conservative critics compared Bizet negatively to Wagner. Bizet took the criticism hard, fell ill, and died of a heart attack at the age of 36.