 At the funeral on 5 June at the Église de la Sainte @-@ Trinité in Montmartre , more than 4 @,@ 000 people were present . Adolphe Bizet led the mourners , who included Gounod , Thomas , Ludovic Halévy , Léon Halévy and Massenet . An orchestra under Pasdeloup played Patrie , and the organist improvised a fantasy on themes from Carmen . At the burial which followed at the Père Lachaise Cemetery , Gounod gave the eulogy . He said that Bizet had been struck down just as he was becoming recognised as a true artist . Towards the end of his address Gounod broke down , and was unable to deliver his final peroration . After a special performance of Carmen at the Opéra @-@ Comique that night , the press which had almost universally condemned the piece three months earlier now declared Bizet a master . 
