Bizet and the Parisian salons

Away from the public performances where the Paris smart set honed their critical talents on his works, Bizet devoted himself to gaining a reputation in high society, developing networks that soon had a considerable impact on his career. If we are to believe Antoine Marmontel, who was his piano teacher at the Paris Conservatoire and later one of his most trusted mentors, Bizet was endowed with ‘a fine, spontaneous wit: he shone in intimate conversations with amusing, original repartee, and also with discerning remarks and felicitous bons mots’. Bizet was a generous artistic companion, a pleasant and honoured guest, and he gradually carved out a place for himself in Parisian salon life. More than a place of social chit-chat and probably self-serving activities, the salons were for Bizet an incitation to creation, emulation and the blossoming of a life and oeuvre parallel to those we are more familiar with today. ‘Under a cold exterior, the heart of the valiant composer beat quickly and strongly’, continued Marmontel, suggesting Bizet’s total commitment to his art. It was with the same integrity, though with greater moderation, that he immersed himself in this social life, whose appearances and pretences he did not hesitate to criticise, while taking advantage of the ways in which it could help him to achieve his operatic ambitions.