As director of the Vaudevile Theatre in Paris, Léon Carvalho attempted to revive the genre of French melodrama. He asked Georges Bizet to compose music to accompany Alphonse Daudet’s play, The Girl From Arles (L’Arlésienne). Following a disappointing premier, Bizet arranged an orchestral suite from fragments of the accompanying music, which we know today as Suite No. 1 of L’Arlésienne. Suite No. 2 was arranged by Bizet’s friend, Ernest Giraud, after the composer’s death. Each suite contains four movements, which are often heard in orchestral concerts.

Szvit No. 1: Prelude, Minuetto, Adagietto

Szvit No. 2: Farandole