Page "Georges Bizet" Paragraph 58

Schonberg surmises that had Bizet lived, he might have revolutionised French opera ; as it is, verismo was taken up mainly by Italians, notably Puccini who, according to Dean, developed the idea " till it became threadbare ".

Bizet founded no specific school, though Dean names Chabrier and Ravel as composers influenced by him.

Dean also suggests that a fascination with Bizet's tragic heroes — Frédéri in L ' Arlésienne, José in Carmen — is reflected in Tchaikovsky's late symphonies, particularly the B minor " Pathetique ".

Macdonald writes that Bizet's legacy is limited by the shortness of his life and by the false starts and lack of focus that persisted until his final five years.

" The spectacle of great works unwritten either because Bizet had other distractions, or because no one asked him to write them, or because of his premature death, is infinitely dispiriting, yet the brilliance and the individuality of his best music is unmistakable.

It has greatly enriched a period of French music already rich in composers of talent and distinction ".