BY PROFESSORE FORTUNATO GALLI, FLORENCE, LAST QUARTER 19TH CENTURY

The subject here is the the gypsy seductress in Georges Bizet's (d.1875) beloved opera Carmen. In four acts, after the novella by Prosper Mérimée, the opera was first performed in Paris on March 3rd 1875. Carmen tells the tragic and melodramatic story of the eponymous gypsy, who seduces naive soldier Don José, only to betray him with the charismatic matador Escamillo. Ironically, the tragedy in the opera parallels the tragedy of Bizet's own life. Deeply depressed, the gifted musician died at a mere 36 years of age, the same year as the opera's first coolly-received performance. Today, however, Carmen is one of the most frequently performed operas.

Born in Livorno, Fortunato Galli (d.1918) spent most of his working life in Florence, where much of his output was religious sculpture for many of the major Tuscan churches, including his principal work, the statue of Pope Gregory VII for the Duomo in Florence. His decorative, commercial works concentrated on popular subjects and themes of the day, such as Mignon, the heroine of Ambroise Thomas's 1866 opera (see Christie's London, 30 May 1996, lot 239), and the subject of the present work, Carmen.