 Among leading musical figures at the premiere were Jules Massenet , Camille Saint @-@ Saëns and Charles Gounod . Geneviève , suffering from an abscess in her right eye , was unable to be present . The opera 's first performance extended to four @-@ and @-@ a @-@ half hours ; the final act did not begin until after midnight . Afterwards , Massenet and Saint @-@ Saëns were congratulatory , Gounod less so . According to one account he accused Bizet of plagiarism : " Georges has robbed me ! Take the Spanish airs and mine out of the score and there remains nothing to Bizet 's credit but the sauce that masks the fish " . Much of the press comment was negative , expressing consternation that the heroine was an amoral seductress rather than a woman of virtue . Galli @-@ Marié 's performance was described by one critic as " the very incarnation of vice " . Others complained of a lack of melody , and made unfavourable comparisons with the traditional Opéra @-@ Comique fare of Auber and Boieldieu . Léon Escudier in L 'Art Musical called the music " dull and obscure ... the ear grows weary of waiting for the cadence that never comes " . There was , however , praise from the poet Théodore de Banville , who applauded Bizet for presenting a drama with real men and women instead of the usual Opéra @-@ Comique " puppets " . The public 's reaction was lukewarm , and Bizet soon became convinced of its failure : " I foresee a definite and hopeless flop " . 
