<Tr> <Th> Based on </Th> <Td> Carmen by Prosper Mérimée </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Premiere </Th> <Td> 3 March 1875 (1875 - 03 - 03) Opéra - Comique, Paris </Td> </Tr> <P> Carmen (French pronunciation: ​ (kaʁmɛn); Spanish: (ˈkarmen)) is an opera in four acts by French composer Georges Bizet . The libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on a novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée . The opera was first performed at the Opéra - Comique in Paris on 3 March 1875, where its breaking of conventions shocked and scandalized its first audiences . </P> <P> Bizet died suddenly after the 33rd performance, unaware that the work would achieve international acclaim within the following ten years . Carmen has since become one of the most popular and frequently performed operas in the classical canon; the "Habanera" from act 1 and the "Toreador Song" from act 2 are among the best known of all operatic arias . </P>

According to the description in act 1 the flower girl is