Bizet's "Carmen" !

Never mind plot and characters and whatever,
I mean the music.
The music is simply a miraculous piece of architecture.
There is a sense of proportion and balance and pacing.
I'm not saying this very well, but
the music is better music than people realize.

There are so many moments when the next number of music begins
and it's, Oh, I'd forgotten this and it's wonderful!

The changing of the guard, with the playful children (boys).

The cigarette factory workers singing about smoke --
Brahms went back to performances some two dozen times
just to see how Bizet managed those rhythmic "hemiola" passages.
(And then Brahms put them in his waltzes.)

Carmen defying the police to arrest her (tra la la la la la la la)

The smugglers in the tavern planning their next heist.
(we can't do it without the ladies ...)

The smugglers coming over the hills
(take care, mind where you step)

... and so many others.