“Carmen” is Georges Bizet's famous opera in four acts, first performed on 3 March 1875. The libretto was based on a novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée and was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy. Unfortunately, Bizet suffered an untimely death after the opera's 33rd performance, and was consequently unaware of the international success it would come to enjoy. Georges Bizet (1838 – 1875) was a French composer during the romantic era. He is most famous for his operas and his final composition, “Carmen”, which remains to this day one of the most popular and commonly performed works in the entire opera repertoire. Classic Music Collection constitutes an extensive library of the most well-known and universally-enjoyed works of classical music ever composed, reproduced from authoritative editions for the enjoyment of musicians and music students the world over.

This volume explores the way in which composers, performers, and critics shaped individual and collective identities in music from Europe and the United States from the 1860s to the 1950s. Selected essays and articles engage with works and their reception by Richard Wagner, Georges Bizet (in an American incarnation), Lili and Nadia Boulanger, William Grant Still, and Aaron Copland, and with performers such as Wanda Landowska and even Marilyn Monroe. Ranging in context from the opera house through the concert hall to the salon, and from establishment cultures to counter-cultural products, the main focus is how music permits new ways of considering issues of nationality, class, race, and gender. These essays - three presented for the first time in English translation - reflect the work in both musical and cultural studies of a distinguished scholar whose international career spans the Atlantic and beyond.

Samson and Delilah (French: Samson et Dalila), is a grand opera in three acts and four scenes by Camille Saint-Saëns to a French libretto by Ferdinand Lemaire. It was first performed in Weimar at the Grossherzogliches (Grand Ducal) Theater (now the Staatskapelle Weimar) on 2 December 1877 in a German translation. The opera is based on the Biblical tale of Samson and Delilah found in Chapter 16 of the Book of Judges in the Old Testament. It is the only opera by Saint-Saëns that is regularly performed. The second act love scene in Delilah's tent is one of the set pieces that define French opera. Two of Delilah's arias are particularly well known: "Printemps qui commence" and "Mon cœur s'ouvre à ta voix" ("My heart opens itself to your voice", also known as "Softly awakes my heart"), the latter of which is one of the most popular recital pieces in the mezzo-soprano/contralto repertoire