A film noted more for its ambition than its actual quality, Carmen : A Hip Hopera was a film with a dream. Carmen is based upon the musical Carmen (for which Dorothy Dandridge became the first Black woman to receive a Best Actress Nomination at the Academy Awards), which was based upon the book of the same name by Prosper Merimee. In what was meant to be an edgy update became a vehicle for experimenting with hip-hop as a forum for musical theater and film. This movie was the first film released in 2001, making it one of Beyonce’s earliest movie appearances.
Check out this synopsis from Rotten Tomatoes
Previously, and brilliantly, adapted as an opera by Georges Bizet, the Prosper Merimee novel Carmen served as the inspiration for this updated made-for-cable movie. Set in contemporary Los Angeles, the film stars Beynoce Knowles of Destiny’s Child as the seductive Carmen, no longer an employee in a cigarette factory but instead an aspiring actress. The “Don Jose” character has become a cop named Sgt. Derek Hill (Mekhi Phifer), who after being ordered by his corrupt superior officer Frank Miller (played by rapper Mos Def) to arrest Carmen for her involvement in a bar fight, falls hopelessly–and tragically–in love with her. After leading Hill down the path to perdition, Carmen deserts him, not out of love for bullfighter Escamillo but for a top-40 rap star named Blaze (Casey Lee). Although the familiar Bizet melodies are heard as linking music, the main musical score is a complete original, composed by Kip Collins. MTV’s Hip Hopera: Carmen first aired over the titular cable network on May 9, 2001. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
Carmen – A Hip Hopera
Carmen A Hip Hopera from Sharon Carter on Vimeo.