Autograph Musical manuscript, an arrangement by Bizet of music from Charles Gounod's opera Faust. Four pages, tall upright folio score, n.p. , n.d., in French, and musical text in Italian. 35 bars in two staves, with multiple corrections and words in Italian, being Scene 2 of the Fourth Act, almost complete, from "...Quando a te lieta sorridea la vita... " to "... io ti sarò fedele amico ognor," which in the French libretto corresponds to "Si le bonheur à sourire t'invite... Comme une soeur je t'aimerai toujours!" To the upper edge of the first score page, the editor Antoine de Choudens annotates "Pour remplacer la page 316 - Nouvelle romance de Siebel," and to a small 8vo note also included, Choudens states in French "Deux copies des parties d'orchestre et de la partition depuis l'andante en la jusqu'à fin.. mettre les paroles françaises a prendre dans Marguerite..." With numerous small tears and chips to the edges and some light blue paper residue to the first page, overall fine.

Gounod's Faust, Opera in five acts, was premiered at the Theatre Lyrique of Paris in March 1859.  After Bizet's return from Rome to Paris, he supplemented his income composing arrangements, in particular reductions for piano and voice, and even working as a musical copyist. He worked especially for the music publisher Antoine de Choudens, who became his friend, and for Charles Gounod, with whom he was close.