Bizet, Alexandre Cesar Leopold Georges (1838-75), French composer, born near Paris, the son of a teacher of singing. He studied under Halevy at the Conservatoire, and won the Prix de Rome, 1857, with a cantata, Clovis et Clotilde.

The best of his earlier operas, Les Pecheurs de perles, produced 1863, La Jolie Fille de Perth (after Scott), 1867, and Djamileh, 1872, suffered in popularity from the charge of 'Wagnerism' the others were neglected or remained unfinished. His music for Alphonse Daudet's drama, L'Arlesienne, 1872, was more successful, and has remained a standard work in the form of 2 suites for orchestra.

His masterpiece, Carmen completed in 1875, written to an adaptation by Meilhac and Halevy of Merimee's tale of the same name, at first scandalised Paris by its realism and did not achieve its great popularity until after Bizet's death on the night of its 31st performance. His symphony in C, undiscovered till quite recently, and written when he was 17, is now frequently performed. Bizet married a daughter of Halavy in 1865.