 The music critic Harold Schonberg surmises that had Bizet lived , he might have revolutionised French opera ; as it is , verismo was taken up mainly by Italians , notably Puccini who , according to Dean , developed the idea " till it became threadbare " . Bizet founded no specific school , though Dean names Chabrier and Ravel as composers influenced by him . Dean also suggests that a fascination with Bizet 's tragic heroes — <unk> in L 'Arlésienne , José in Carmen — is reflected in Tchaikovsky 's late symphonies , particularly the B minor " Pathetique " . Macdonald writes that Bizet 's legacy is limited by the shortness of his life and by the false starts and lack of focus that persisted until his final five years . " The spectacle of great works unwritten either because Bizet had other distractions , or because no one asked him to write them , or because of his premature death , is infinitely dispiriting , yet the brilliance and the individuality of his best music is unmistakable . It has greatly enriched a period of French music already rich in composers of talent and distinction . " 
