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The "Habanera" is an aria from the opera Carmen by Georges Bizet, adaptedBizet thought he was using a popular tune from the habanera "El Arreglito" originally composed by Sebastián Yradier.Yradier is better known for another habanera called "La Paloma". The song is also sometimes known by its first two lines, "L'amour est un oiseau rebelle que nul ne peut apprivoiser".Love is a rebellious bird that nothing can tame Its melody, among the most famous in the Western musical tradition, is based on a descending chromatic scale followed by variants of the same phrase in first the minor and then the major key, corresponding with the vicissitudes of love expressed in the lyrics. In live performances, after singing the concluding words of the song (prends garde à toi!),watch out! Carmen tosses a flower to Don José. Later on, in the celebrated Flower Song, La fleur que tu m'avais jetée (the flower which you had thrown me) Don José tells how he treasured the flower while in prison.
On a separate note, in North America the piece is often lampooned and sung with "la la la-la- la la la la" in falsetto to be used as a goofy imitation of an opera.
Notes
See also
- Habanera for a discussion of the history of the habanera.
External links
- Text and translation at Aria-Database.com. The translation there is a literal translation that tries to preserve the rhythm of the original at the expense of nuance of meaning in places. For instance, the phrase prends garde à toi! is translated there as keep guard of yourself, whereas a more direct translation might be simply watch out!, not only for an attack but for what you yourself might do in your quest for love. Indeed, the latter is an important aspect of the whole opera.
"Habanera (aria)"