No other production records appear to survive: most likely, they were destroyed in the catastrophic fire of 1887 at the Opera-comique." (Evan Baker, "The Scene Designs for the First Performances of Bizet's Carmen," in "19th-Century Music, Vol. If this is the case, as I now believe it is, these Choudens scene designs would take on a special importance, for there are no other iconographical and documentary materials that have any direct relationship with the Carmen premiere in 1875.
After comparing these lithographs with other extant materials, I began to suspect that they might well be the original designs for the 1875 production. Two of the designs were previously published in 1912 without attribution in the French periodical, Musica. The signature of A Lamy can be seen in the lower left corners of the third and fourth-act designs it is not clear, however, that Lamy was the actual scene designer.
Each design measures 25.8 x 18.8 cm, and all of the lithographs are mounted on larger sheets and bound together as an album with an ornate title page. Aussitot apres la premier representation nous renvoyer par poste franco ce Modele des Decors CHOUDENS Pere et Fils 30, Boulevard Ces Capucines." "The lithographic reproductions of the set designs are rare and may be found, for the most part, only in the archives of certain music publishers, notably in those of the Choudens firm.During the preparations for an exhibition centering on the first production of Carmen, I was able to examine a set of hand-colored, lithographed stage designs for the opera in the Choudens archives in Paris. A printed ticket affixed to the upper front wrapper reads "N.B. Four elaborately hand painted lithographs illustrating the original scenic designs for the 1875 first production of Bizet's "Carmen." Each measuring 25.8 x 18.8 cm, mounted to larger sheets and contained in the original publisher's wrappers featuring an ornate cover design, 34.5 x 27 cm.
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