Juxtaposing the opera with the Mérimée sources has so far compared novella and libretto and their transformation into opera. It has also identified a few possible sources of Bizet’s ‘inspiration’, but do these really get to the heart of the characters of this spectacle? Counteracting the accusations that Bizet’s opera slightens the novella, a reverse approach stemming from French nineteenth-century gypsophiles – amongst whom Mérimée was one of the most committed – reveals the seriousness with which the two librettists approached their commission, transferring the essence, spirit and locations into a text ripe with ‘realism’ and a visceral presentation of this troubled tale. Halévy’s notebooks reveal him combing the first published collection of Mérimée’s correspondence, which appeared exactly in the year he and Meil-hac were transforming Carmen into a libretto.Above all, his notes reveal a search for an understanding of Mérimée’s deep attachment to Spain. Examination of both the first run and Albert Carré’s ‘remake’ of 1898 further unveil considerable team-efforts to capture these essential Spanish qualities – Don Preciso’s ‘El chiste y la sal de España’ – both on the stage and in the pit.

Frowned upon by some modern theatre analysts is the old-fashioned and dubious method of the ‘character sketch’, which was the backbone of school-level study. This has been attempted many times in relation to Carmen, but perhaps without much regard to Carmen’s foils, Micaëla, José and Escamillo,