Born in Paris during the Romantic era, Bizet was recognised as a child prodigy and entered the prestigious Paris Conservatory of Music at the age of nine. In late adolescence he obtained a scholarship in Rome for three years, before returning to Paris where he lived for the rest of his life. Carmen, written in 1875 is probably Bizet s most famous work, and one of the most famous opera s ever written. The opera was based on an 1846 novel of the same name by Prosper Mérimée.