Carly Simon Merges Pop With Opera

CARLY SIMON never imagined she would write an opera.

"It never entered my mind. I would never have thought I would be even slightly capable, much less interested," the pop singer-songwriter says.

But that was before the Metropolitan Opera Guild and Kennedy Center in Washington, kicking off a project seeking new audiences for opera, asked her to write one.

Her "Romulus Hunt" opened last night at the 600-seat John Jay Theater here and continues until March 7. It will run from April 7-11 at Kennedy Center's 1,100-seat Eisenhower Theater. "Romulus Hunt" is sung by four opera singers and a 14-year-old boy.

Now, TV's "Northern Exposure" has asked Ms. Simon to write another opera.

"They want one whole episode to be an opera. I'm actually considering that," she says.

Simon thinks her melodies for the opera sound more classical than her pop songwriting.

"But my rhythm orientation is modern and pop. I was not interested in changing that," she says. "I think that's the most interesting part of the fusion - the rhythms of pop and more classical melodies."