Posthumous appreciation
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Bizet: 10 facts about the great composer
![Georges Bizet composer Carmen cigarette card](https://assets.classicfm.com/2014/13/georges-bizet-4-1396432678-view-1.jpg)
10. Posthumous appreciation
Bizet, who was a heavy smoker, died of a heart attack aged 36, three months after the première of Carmen, unaware that his opera would become a spectacular and enduring success. His other works also began to be performed more frequently in the 20th century and he is now recognised as a composer of brilliance and originality.