Carmen is often described as the most popular opera of all time, so it should come as no surprise that its music has been referenced by everything from Jim Henson's Muppets to Major League Baseball.
Tom and Jerry, spoofed Carmen in the 1962 cartoon short "Carmen Get It!"
Gilligan's Island did a rendition of Hamlet set to the music of Carmen in an episode titled “The Producer.” This was my favorite episode of Gilligan's Island, when I was a kid. Who knew I'd end up working for an opera company?!
The music from Carmen also has gained more recognition with the general public after excerpts have been used on television commercials.
Beyoncé Knowles belted out a Pepsi commercial to the tune of "Habanera" from Bizet's Carmen.
The “Habanera” from Carmen was also used in a 2007 Doritos commercial.
Other television advertisements that use the music from Carmen are Kentucky Fried Chicken and Epson Printer, Major League Baseball, and Comcast.
Despite the fact that Carmen is a French opera with a Spanish setting, its music has frequently been heard in commercials for Italian pasta & pasta sauce companies, such as Bertolli. The logic is flawed, but the music still sells!
Beaker, the Swedish Chef and Animal of the Muppets sang the “Habanera.” Gotta love Animal!
Sesame Street’s “Ode to the Letter L” was sung to the tune of the “Toreador Song.”
Sesame Street also used the “Habanera” in their clip, “Operatic Orange.”
In the 1990s, The Animaniacs’ did a take on Carmen, in a segment entitled "O Silly Mio."
Fans of the FOX show Family Guy may remember a 2002 episode in which Brian the dog bonds with an elderly woman after hearing her sing the "Habanera."
Another memorable “Habanera” was in the 2009 Disney/Pixar film, Up.
In the Marx Brothers’ 1929 film The Cocoanuts, “I Want My Shirt” (a song about lost-and-found shirts, of all things), is set to the “Toreador Song.”
Tunes from Carmen have made frequent appearances in the soundtracks and trailers of other comedy films (never mind that the opera itself has a tragic ending!). Wild Hogs in 2007 and Fool’s Gold in 2008 had the music in its trailers, and 1976 baseball classic The Bad News Bears used Carmen all throughout the film, juxtaposing the beauty of Bizet's music with the awful playing of the starring baseball team.
The music of Carmen has been used in many other movies, including Agent Cody Banks 2: Destination London, The Art of War, Babe, Bad Santa, Entrapment, Magnolia, Meet the Parents, The Phantom of the Opera, Runaway Jury, Serendipity, Someone Like You, and Trainspotting.
Even MTV has gotten in on the act, releasing the movie-musical Carmen: A Hip Hopera. This update to Bizet's Carmen features rapping as well as singing, and stars pop singer Beyonce Knowles, actor Mekhi Phifer, and a cast of young actors and hip-hop performers including Mos Def, Wyclef Jean, Jermaine Dupri, Lil’ Bow Wow, Da Brat, Joy Bryant, and Rah Digga. The story line of Carmen was used LOOSLEY in this musical film production which is set in modern day Philadelphia and Los Angeles. In place of Bizet's opera, it features a mostly original hip-hop/R&B score, so don't be mislead by the title Carmen.
Cheers & see you tomorrow at Carmen!
Eleanor
