"Carmen Jones" (Oscar Hammerstein II)

Paper Summary:

"Carmen Jones (produced 1944) by Oscar Hammerstein II is a version of Georges Bizet's opera Carmen (produced 1875), one of the most widely-known and best-loved of all operas. In transforming Carmen by changing its time and place, rewriting the libretto in English, and replacing Bizet's characters with African Americans

From the Paper:

"Carmen Jones (produced 1944) by Oscar Hammerstein II is a version of Georges Bizet's opera Carmen (produced 1875), one of the most widely-known and best-loved of all operas. In transforming Carmen by changing its time and place, rewriting the libretto in English, and replacing Bizet's characters with African Americans Hammerstein was attempting to broaden the audience for opera in America. Although Hammerstein managed to create the popular success he wanted, many of his changes undermined the dramatic-musical synthesis on which the success of Bizet's opera rests. The principal flaw in Hammerstein's version is that while Bizet's, and the characters', exoticizing racism was essential to the dramatic and musical structure of Carmen, the later work eliminates this essential tension. Carmen Jones was left with the drama of romantic passion and an attempt to ..."

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