What character did Beyoncé play in Carmen: A Hip Hopera?

Beyoncé played Carmen Brown in Carmen: A Hip Hopera.

The MTV television film premiered in 2001 and reimagined Georges Bizet’s opera Carmen as a contemporary hip-hop musical. Beyoncé’s character is an ambitious performer whose relationships and choices drive the story.

The cast included Mekhi Phifer as Hill, Mos Def as Lieutenant Miller, and Wyclef Jean as Sergeant Brown. The production was directed by Robert Townsend and used music, rap, and dramatic dialogue to adapt the opera’s central plot.

This role was one of Beyoncé’s earliest major acting appearances and came before her best-known theatrical film roles. It is often confused with Foxxy Cleopatra, the character she played in the 2002 comedy Austin Powers in Goldmember.