 The suddenness of Bizet 's death , and awareness of his depressed mental state , fuelled rumours of suicide . Although the exact cause of death was never settled with certainty , physicians discounted such theories and eventually determined the cause as " a cardiac complication of acute articular rheumatism " . News of the death stunned Paris 's musical world ; as Galli @-@ Marié was too upset to appear , that evening 's performance of Carmen was cancelled and replaced with Boieldieu 's La dame blanche . 
