Entr' Act III from Bizet's Carmen

[EJA_2]

I have a four CD set of Adagios done by Von Karajan. My mother gave it to me last Christmas because I had said I liked Barber's Adagio for Strings. Ironically, Barber's Adagio wasn't on any of the CDs. Nevertheless, there is lots of nice music on them. One piece, on the CD entitled "Romantic Adagio," is Entr' Act III from Bizet's Carmen. It is short, about 2:39, and hauntingly beautiful. I am familiar with the Carmen story, but not with how it falls out in the acts. So, can anyone tell me what is going on at the beginning of Act III. I am going to have to look this up somehow if I don't get an answer here. It has really gotten my curiosity up.

[shostakovich]

Entr'actes are symphonic pieces played between acts (which is what entr'acte means in French). They may or may not have anything to do with the story. I'm not sure if #III precedes or follows act III. The one preceding is peaceful. The one following is animated. Act III takes place in the smugglers' camp. The peaceful entr'acte that precedes it seems independent of story. The animated one precedes act IV, which takes place outside a bull ring, and is more in keeping with story.<BR>I hope that helps.

[EJA_2]

Thanks. That helps. The piece to which I referred is definitely the peaceful one at the beginning of Act III. I found this synopsis of the opera for anyone who is interested: <A HREF="http://www.metopera.org/synopses/carmen.html" TARGET=_blank>http://www.metopera.org/synopses/carmen.html</A> <BR>What a mess! I guess that Entr' Acte III might not have much to do with Act III. It doesn't seem to fit in such a morass. Maybe that is the idea. <BR> -- Ethan Adams