I have a real soft spot for Bizet’s opera Carmen. I’ve watched a Met production on public television, a French teacher showed the film version in class, and I’ve even seen the contemporary film remake with an African-American cast, Carmen Jones. My youth orchestra performed the Carmen Fantasie with a very young Gil Shaham on violin. Watching Carmen in French class was the perfect multimedia activity to involve me in the language, since the literature wasn’t doing it for me. Camus, and the other French authors we read, didn’t feel as lyrical as much as they felt depressing (granted, I hadn’t taken any philosophy yet and wasn’t able to properly appreciate it). Carmen may be a tragedy, but it is full of life, and the music always teased my inner ear for days.

With that background knowledge, you may imagine my disbelief, which I gamely tried to keep from turning into horror, at hearing that MTV had created a hip hop version of Carmen. Yes. Hip. Hop. I like hip hop much better than I like certain sugary, exposed belly button pop (and hip hop has a laudable 20 year history). But I stopped watching MTV somewhere around the Jenny McCarthy era, and I haven’t had the distinct pleasure of seeing their current show, “JackAss”. Suffice to say I don’t expect much from MTV anymore, which, since I’m no longer in their demographic, is fine with me. Well, my fears about a hip hopping Carmen may be unwarranted. The reviews I’ve read of “MTV’s Hip Hopera: Carmen” have been positive. The venerable gray lady herself uses the words “artistically sophisticated”, and says it “is so vibrantly made that it might even appeal to people who ordinarily wouldn’t dream of going out of their way to hear rap.” MTV is even running it without commercial interruption, although I’m sure there is plenty to promote without having to break from the plot. If MTV inspires anyone to pick up the Bizet version, I’d be surprised, but perhaps they’ve truly added to contemporary culture with their hip hopera. Next up, J. Lo as Madame Butterfly, perhaps?