Carmen Backstage Pass

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8
Carmen
A Selected Cultural and Historical Timeline
1923 1933 1939 1943 1950
Roma people (gypsies) are among the groups the
Nazi regime deems racially inferior. By the end of
World War II, around 25 percent of all European
Roma will die at the hands of the Nazis.
Ernest Hemingway attends his first bullfight in
Pamplona, bringing along his pregnant wife Hadley in
hopes that the event will have a positive influence on
their unborn son. He will write an entire book on the
subject, Death in the Afternoon, which will be published
in 1932.
The Royal Tobacco Factory of Seville moves
out of its imposing facility, built in 1758. The
historic building becomes the headquarters
of the city’s university. A 19th-century visitor
to the factory wrote, “One room alone
contained no less than 3,300 women. The
cigarreras, many of whom are great beauties,
form a class by themselves, and unhappily
are not noted for their chastity.” (Downes)
Bizet’s first symphony is discovered in the archives of the
Conservatoire de Paris library. He wrote it in November 1855, at age
17. It will be performed for the first time in 1935, to high praise from
critics.
The musical Carmen Jones premieres in New
York. It reimagines the story in World War II era
America and features an all-Black cast singing
new lyrics for Bizet’s music, written by Oscar
Hammerstein II.
Main façade of the former Royal Tobacco Factory, now the seat of the rectorate of the
University of Seville, seen from the San Fernando Street.