Habanera ("
usic or danceof
Havana
Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center. ") is the popular name for "" (; "Love is a rebellious bird"), an
aria
In music, an aria ( Italian: ; plural: ''arie'' , or ''arias'' in common usage, diminutive form arietta , plural ariette, or in English simply air) is a self-contained piece for one voice, with or without instrumental or orchestral accompa ...
from
Georges Bizet
Georges Bizet (; 25 October 18383 June 1875) was a French composer of the Romantic music, Romantic era. Best known for his operas in a career cut short by his early death, Bizet achieved few successes before his final work, ''Carmen'', whi ...
's 1875
opéra comique ''
Carmen''. It is the entrance aria of the title character, a
mezzo-soprano
A mezzo-soprano or mezzo (; ; meaning "half soprano") is a type of classical female singing voice whose vocal range lies between the soprano and the contralto voice types. The mezzo-soprano's vocal range usually extends from the A below middl ...
role, in scene 5 of the first act.
Background
The score of the aria was adapted from the
habanera "El Arreglito ou la Promesse de mariage", by the Spanish musician
Sebastián Iradier
Sebastián Iradier Salaverri (Salaberri) (20 January 18096 December 1865), or Sebastián Yradier, was a Spanish Basque composer.
Biography
Iradier was born in Lanciego, in the province of Álava. His publisher in Paris urged him to "universalize ...
, first published in 1863, which Bizet thought to be a folk song.
When others told him he had used something written by a composer who had died ten years earlier,
['' Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians'', 5th ed. 1954] he added a note about its derivation in the first edition of the vocal score which he himself prepared. Although the French
libretto of the complete opéra comique was written by
Henri Meilhac and
Ludovic Halévy, the words of the habanera originated from Bizet. The Habanera was first performed by
Galli-Marié at the
Opéra-Comique on 3 March 1875. Bizet, having removed during rehearsals his first version of Carmen's entrance song, in with a refrain in , rewrote the Habanera several times before he (and Galli-Marié) were satisfied with it.
, an enthusiastic admirer of ''Carmen'', commented on the "ironically provocative" aria evoking "Eros as conceived by the ancients, playfully alluring, mischievously demoniacal."
Rodney Milnes, reviewing a range of interpretations on record, described the piece as "after all, [] a simple, teasingly articulated statement of fact, not an earth-shattering philosophical credo".
Music
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\score
Although Bizet kept the basic layout of the Iradier song, which has each verse in D minor and each refrain in the tonic major, he let go of the long
ritornelli and second half material, and by adding chromaticism, variations in the refrain and harmonic interest in the accompaniment, made it a memorable number.
Dean, Winton
Winton Basil Dean (18 March 1916 – 19 December 2013) was an English musicologist of the 20th century, most famous for his research on the life and works—in particular the operas and oratorios—of George Frideric Handel, as detailed in his boo ...
. "Bizet." ''The Master Musicians'', JM Dent & Sons, London, 1975, pp. 229–230, 251. The reharmonization, addition of triplets in the vocal line and the flute in its low register add to the effect.
Despite the change in mode there is no actual modulation in the aria, and the implied pedal point D is maintained throughout. The
vocal range
Vocal range is the range of pitches that a human voice can phonate. A common application is within the context of singing, where it is used as a defining characteristic for classifying singing voices into voice types. It is also a topic of st ...
covers
D4 to F
5 with a
tessitura from D
4 to D
5. Although Bizet borrowed the melody from a song by Iradier he developed it "with his inimitable harmonic style and haunting habanera rhythm".
The orchestration for the number consists of the two flutes, two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, four horns, timpani, triangle and tambourine, full strings, plus two 'pistons' (trumpets - for the final chord only).
[Georges Bizet. ''Carmen. Opéra comique en quatre actes''. Critical Edition edited by Robert Didion. Ernst Eulenberg, 1992, 2003 (No. 5 Habanera, p. 99).] The orchestral complement for the premiere run was 62 or 57 musicians in total (depending on whether the pit players doubled for off-stage music).
[de Solliers, Jean. Commentaire litteraire et musical. In: ''Carmen, Bizet. L'Avant Scène Opéra, no 26''. Paris, Editions Premières Loges, 1993, p. 23.]
José is the only person on stage who pays no attention to Carmen while she sings the Habanera, and after she finishes she approaches him,
[ Winton Dean. "The True ''Carmen''? (Review of ''Carmen. Kritische Neuausgabe nach den Quellen von Fritz Oeser''). '']The Musical Times
''The Musical Times'' is an academic journal of classical music edited and produced in the United Kingdom and currently the oldest such journal still being published in the country.
It was originally created by Joseph Mainzer in 1842 as ''Mainzer ...
'', vol. 106, no. 1473 (November 1965), pp. 846–855. and at the end of the following short scene, after Carmen's spoken words "épinglier de mon âme" and her throwing a
cassia flower at José, the female chorus reprise the refrain "L'amour est enfant de bohème, Il n'a jamais, jamais connu de loi, Si tu ne m'aimes pas, je t'aime, Si je t'aime, prends garde à toi !". The refrain also returns briefly at the end of the act, in scene XI, No. 1 Final, where Carmen hums it ('fredonnant') in the face of the lieutenant Zuniga.
Libretto
Lyrics in parentheses are sung by the chorus.
ecitative''
Quand je vous aimerai ?
Ma foi, je ne sais pas,
Peut-être jamais, peut-être demain...
Mais pas aujourd'hui, c'est certain !
ong''
L'amour est un oiseau rebelle
Que nul ne peut apprivoiser,
Et c'est bien en vain qu'on l'appelle,
S'il lui convient de refuser;
Rien n'y fait, menace ou prière,
L'un parle bien, l'autre se tait;
Et c'est l'autre que je préfère,
Il n'a rien dit, mais il me plaît.
(L'amour est un oiseau rebelle) L'amour !
(Que nul ne peut apprivoiser,) L'amour !
(Et c'est bien en vain qu'on l'appelle,) L'amour !
(S'il lui convient de refuser.) L'amour !
L'amour est enfant de bohème,
Il n'a jamais, jamais connu de loi,
Si tu ne m'aimes pas, je t'aime,
Si je t'aime, prends garde à toi ! (Prends garde à toi !)
Si tu ne m'aimes pas,
Si tu ne m'aimes pas, je t'aime ! (Prends garde à toi !)
Mais si je t'aime, si je t'aime,
Prends garde à toi!
(L'amour est enfant de bohème,)
(Il n'a jamais, jamais connu de loi,)
(Si tu ne m'aimes pas, je t'aime;)
(Si je t'aime, prends garde à toi !) (Prends garde à toi !)
Si tu ne m'aimes pas,
Si tu ne m'aimes pas, je t'aime ! (Prends garde à toi !)
Mais si je t'aime, si je t'aime,
Prends garde à toi ! (à toi !)
L'oiseau que tu croyais surprendre
Battit de l'aile et s'envola,
L'amour est loin, tu peux l'attendre;
Tu ne l'attends plus, il est là !
Tout autour de toi, vite, vite,
Il vient, s'en va, puis il revient;
Tu crois le tenir, il t'évite;
Tu crois l'éviter, il te tient !
(Tout autour de toi, vite, vite,) L'amour !
(Il vient, s'en va, puis il revient;) L'amour !
(Tu crois le tenir, il t'évite;) L'amour !
(Tu crois l'éviter, il te tient !) L'amour !
L'amour est enfant de bohème,
Il n'a jamais, jamais connu de loi,
Si tu ne m'aimes pas, je t'aime,
Si je t'aime, prends garde à toi ! (Prends garde à toi !)
Si tu ne m'aimes pas,
Si tu ne m'aimes pas, je t'aime ! (Prends garde à toi !)
Mais si je t'aime, si je t'aime,
Prends garde à toi !
(L'amour est enfant de bohème,)
(Il n'a jamais, jamais connu de loi,)
(Si tu ne m'aimes pas, je t'aime,)
(Si je t'aime, prends garde à toi !) (Prends garde à toi !)
Si tu ne m'aimes pas,
Si tu ne m'aimes pas, je t'aime ! (Prends garde à toi !)
Mais si je t'aime, si je t'aime,
Prends garde à toi ! (à toi !)
ecitative''
When will I love you?
Good Lord, I don't know,
Maybe never, maybe tomorrow...
But not today, that's for sure!
ong''
Love is a rebellious bird
That none can tame,
And it is quite in vain that one calls it,
If it suits it to refuse;
Nothing to be done, threat or plea.
The one talks well, the other is silent;
And it's the other that I prefer,
He said nothing, but he pleases me.
(Love is a rebellious bird) Love!
(That none can tame,) Love!
(And it is well in vain that one calls it,) Love!
(If it suits it to refuse.) Love!
Love is a gypsy child,
It has never, never known a law,
If you don't love me, I love you,
If I love you, be on your guard! (Be on your guard!)
If you don't love me,
If you don't love me, then I love you! (Be on your guard!)
But if I love you, if I love you,
Be on your guard!
(Love is a gypsy child,)
(It has never, never known a law,)
(If you don't love me, I love you,)
(If I love you, be on your guard!) (Be on your guard!)
If you don't love me,
If you don't love me, I love you! (Be on your guard!)
But if I love you, if I love you,
Be on your guard! (Your guard!)
The bird you hoped to catch
Beat its wings and flew away,
Love is far, you can wait for it;
You no longer await it, there it is!
All around you, swift, swift,
It comes, goes, then it returns;
You think to hold it fast, it dodges you;
You think to dodge it, it holds you!
(All around you, swift, swift,) Love!
(It comes, goes, then it returns;) Love!
(You think to hold it fast, it dodges you;) Love!
(You think to dodge it, it holds you!) Love!
Love is a gypsy child,
It has never, never known a law,
If you don't love me, I love you;
If I love you, be on your guard! (Be on your guard!)
If you don't love me,
If you don't love me, then I love you! (Be on your guard!)
But if I love you, if I love you,
Be on your guard!
(Love is a gypsy child,)
(It has never, never known the law,)
(If you don't love me, then I love you,)
(If I love you, be on your guard!) (Be on your guard!)
If you don't love me,
If you don't love me, then I love you! (Be on your guard!)
But if I love you, if I love you,
Be on your guard! (Your guard!)
Notes
External links
*
*
Text and translation of Habaneraat Aria-Database.com
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Habanera (Aria)
Arias by Georges Bizet
Carmen
Opera excerpts
1875 compositions
Dance forms in classical music
Mezzo-soprano arias
Arias in French
Compositions in D minor