In a career spanning less than twenty years, Georges Bizet produced works in every genre: orchestral music, piano pieces, cantatas, operas, songs and more, characterized by a mastery of orchestration and a taste for orientalism and folklore. This comprehensive 4-CD portrait album and accompanying 159 page book from the musicological record label for Palazzetto Bru Zane – Center for Romantic French Music contains works that were never performed during Bizet’s lifetime, indeed some which had to wait until 2024 for their premiere. Of particular note is the “ode-symphony” Vasco de Gama, which illustrates the Romantic taste for vast historical epics, and Le Retour de Virginie, a cantata for the Prix de Rome presented by the composer to his teacher in 1855. Piano music and mélodies are a reminder that Bizet was also a sought-after salon composer. The performers included the Lyon National Orchestra led by Ben Glassberg, The Metz Grand Est Orchestra led by David Reiland, Les Siècles led by François-Xavier Roth, the Lille Opera Chorus, the Flemish Radio Choir, and various singers and pianists including Huw Monatgue Rendall, Karina Gauvin, Cyrille Dubois, Nathanaël Gouin, and Célia Oneto Bensaid. A majority of the repertoire in this compendium is new to the WFMT library.