 Bizet 's marriage to Geneviève Halévy was intermittently happy and produced one son . After his death , his work , apart from Carmen , was generally neglected . Manuscripts were given away or lost , and published versions of his works were frequently revised and adapted by other hands . He founded no school and had no obvious disciples or successors . After years of neglect , his works began to be performed more frequently in the 20th century . Later commentators have acclaimed him as a composer of brilliance and originality whose premature death was a significant loss to French musical theatre . 
