Klingon Opera: "Abduction from the Seraglio" à la Star Trek

[Platonian]

For you Mozart fans who might happen to be in Los Angeles in the next few days, here’s a treat:

"Pacific Opera Project boldly goes where no opera company has gone before in a Star Trek-themed production of Abduction from the Seraglio.

One of Mozart’s most impressive scores, Die Entführung aus dem Serail is filled with vocal fireworks featuring some of the most thrilling arias and ensembles in all of opera. A new English libretto…takes the action from an 18th-century harem in Turkey and places it at 'Stardate 1420.27 on the hereto unexplored planet M113'."

Here's the YouTube preview.

I’m going to see this on Friday. I’ll let you know what I think.

[sunnyside]

Bizarre. I await your report.

[Nutso]

I too await.

[Platonian]

Apologies for the tardiness of my review.

It was great! I haven't had that much fun at the opera in a long time. Soloists and chorus were very good to excellent; orchestra top notch; staging really fun.

The opera company that performed "Abduction from the KLINGON Seraglio," as I have taken to calling it, is really quite good. I heard them before doing an imaginative and wonderfully executed version of Francesco Cavalli's opera La Calisto (1651), so I knew they had the wherewithal to pull off "Abduction from the Seraglio" in style.

There was quite a bit of "shtick" in the production, but Mozart wrote "Abduction from the Seraglio" as a comic opera. Nothing was ever really "over the top" or in bad taste. Quite the contrary, you could tell that those involved in the production really had an abiding love and respect for Trek, with lots of "insider" references that were just magnificent!

Maybe the real star of the show was the libretto. Originally, "Abduction from the Seraglio" was written in German and described the attempt of the hero Belmonte, assisted by his servant Pedrillo, to rescue his beloved Konstanze from the seraglio of Pasha Selim. (For those keeping track, the original libretto was adapted even in Mozart's lifetime.) In this version, we have Capt. James T. Belmonte, his first officer Mr. Pedrillo of Vulcan, Lt. Constanza (cf. Lt. Uhura) and Klingon Chancellor Selim, inter alios, singing and speaking (thankfully) in English. The erstwhile seraglio is now a Klingon encampment on "the hereto unexplored planet M113."

I was just amazed at how well this story worked as Trek. Capt. Belmonte was perfect -- Shatner meets Mozart! My favorite was Mr. Pedrillo. He managed to capture all those qualities of Vulcans that are so endearing and enraging. His aria about being half-human and half-Vulcan was delightful, and really quite touching. And the Klingons -- as exotic and engaging to modern audiences as the Ottoman Turks must have been in Mozart's time!

Almost as interesting as the performance was the audience. It was a 50-50 mix of opera buffs and Trek enthusiasts. And everyone seemed to have a really good time.

I heard that this production would go on tour. If it does and comes to your city, GO SEE IT! If you can't make it, you can see the whole performance here.

[RK_Striker_JK_5]

Thanks, Platonian. It sounds like a fun time.

[Platonian]

Thanks, Platonian. It sounds like a fun time.

You're most welcome! Yes, it was!