He was born in Paris on 25/10/1838 into a family of musicians. From a very early age he showed exceptional talent in music and was accepted to the Conservatoire de Paris at the age of nine. He had already composed several works when he won the Prix de Rome in 1857. He remained in Italy for three years. However, when he returned to Paris, he encountered difficulties, due to the fact that the major Parisian opera houses did not prefer works by emerging composers. As a result, he made a living by making arrangements and musical transcriptions for other composers. His operas Les pêcheurs de perles (1863) and La jolie fille de Perth (1867) were not initially warmly received by the French public. After the Franco-Prussian War (1870-1871), during which he served, he achieved minor success with the one-act opera Djamileh (1872) and the incidental music for the drama L'Arlésienne (1872). Nevertheless, some of the most beloved arias and famous melodies of the opera repertoire are his own. Carmen, his last work and one of the most popular operas of all time, was first performed in Paris in 1875 amid outraged reactions, as its realism and subject matter were far from the established romantic standards of the time. He died on 03/06/1875, at a very young age, only 36 years old. // Last update of the biography: February 2026 - The list of productions below is continually updated.