Carmen is an opera in four acts by Georges Bizet. The libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy based on the novel of the same name by Prosper Mérimée. Although formally an opera comique and also referred to as such, Carmen was “a revolutionary break” with this genre of opera. The realistic description of the milieu, drama and fateful tragedy made it a forerunner of verismo. The first performance on March 3, 1875 in the Opéra-Comique was received rather negatively. Soon afterwards, however, Carmen became one of the greatest world successes in opera history, which the composer no longer lived to see. Even today, Carmen is one of the most popular and most frequently performed works in the operatic repertoire.