Bizet, Georges, bee ZAY, zhawrzh (1838-1875), a French composer, wrote Carmen (1875), one of the most popular operas of all time. This violent love story was severely criticized at first. Critics said the murder scene was inappropriate for the stage, and called the story obscene and its characters repulsive. They did not realize that Bizet had created true-to-life characters, rather than the usual opera types. He based Carmen on a novelette by the French author Prosper Merimee (see Merimee, Prosper).