Chancellor Selim (Kevin Murray) listens as Capt. Belmonte (Brian Cheney) makes his case for taking Constanze (Julia Engel) away.

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Chorus of slave girls and Klingon warriors

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February 9, 2016 Burlesque (n) bɘr'-lesk – A coarse form of dramatic parody that seeks   to entertain through distortion or ridicule. For example, a well-known opera or piece of classical theatre or ballet is adapted into a broad comic play, usually a musical play, usually risqué in style, mocking the theatrical and musical conventions and styles of the original work. Well, that explains it: In the interest of making opera more entertaining and accessible (his words), Pacific Opera Project director Josh Shaw skewered Mozart's comic opera Abduction from the Seraglio in 2014 by making it a hysterically, um, far-out episode of the original 1960s Star Trek series. Opera Piccola brought the improbable production – from Kirk to Klingons, tranporters to tribbles – to the Empire Theatre last weekend and actually made it work. And, despite the onstage mayhem and outrageous new English libretto (also courtesy of Mr. Shaw, who stage-directed), Mozart’s sublime music was well served by all forces. The original story line involves a hero rescuing his captured beloved and her maid, along with his steward, from the harem of a cruel Turkish pasha. There is all manner of foolishness along the way, made easier for audiences to follow because of its Singspiel style, using spoken dialogue. Here, the singers have names adapted from the opera, but each is a familiar Star Trek character. Thus, the hero, Capt. Belmonte, is based on Capt. Kirk, while the others appear as Lt. Uhura, a green-skinned slavegirl, the Vulcan Spock and a Klingon Warlord. The setting is a rocky, uncharted planet, listed in the program as Anigav. Reading the name backwards, we knew we were in for a bumpy – not to mention bawdy – ride. And it was, with dozens of gosh-awful puns, slapstick and entendres that were sometimes double, but often just blatantly on target. Clear, smooth-voiced tenor Brian Cheney, who was in the original Star Trek Mozart production, cheerfully nailed and exaggerated virtually all of the William Shatner acting eccentricities. There were his shoulders-cocked sideways strides, the oddly stilted speech and, of course, the studied stances and preening. There were even his trademark barrel-rolls.Bass-baritone Gustav Andreassen as the Klingon guard Osmin (complete with double-pointed bat'leth sword) was both formidable and funny, depending on whether or not he was enticed into doing a softshoe routine or other nonsense in-between being, well, fearsome. The voice was rich, sonorous and impressively flexible. Soprano Julia Engel, Constanza garbed as Lt. Uhura, revealed a silken, well-trained instrument that negotiated the fioritura of the familiar aria about rejecting the Pasha’s advances (originally “Martern aller Arten”) with ease. Crystalline-voiced coloratura Rainelle Krause was charming as mossy-toned Blondie, who affected a cheesy Bronx accent and actually complained – wait for it – “It ain't easy being green.” Reedy lyric tenor Tim Birt as pointy-eared Mr. Pedrillo valiantly – and with none-too-subtle gestures – pondered his lusty human vs. stoic Vulcan sides as he considered his unexpectedly erotic reaction to Blondie. Veteran San Antonio actor Kevin Murray in the non-singing role of Chancellor Selim had little to do other than issue commands and look menacing until the finale, but he did so with appropriate ferocity. The Gorn (Andy Fleming) also showed up in this piece. That’s the fearsome reptilian alien that Capt. Kirk battled in a memorable mano-a-claw battle episode involving – among other primitive props – huge but obviously papier mache boulders being chunked at one another. There was time out for a theatrical recreation of the scene, done with recorded music and sound effects instead of orchestral accompaniment. The energetic chorus was composed of slavegirls petting furry tribbles and wearing a rainbow of brightly colored full-body leotard-skin and wigs. The male choristers were Klingons, all brandishing (and sometimes dancing with) those curved bat'leth swords. Confidently riding musical herd on all this foolishness was Kristin Roach, who led an excellent 26-piece orchestra (many wearing Star Trek uniforms) that did ample justice to Mozart’s glistening score but was willing to provide off-kilter fanfares or pa-dum-pum drum responses to increasingly painful jokes and puns. Kudos to set designer/builder Dave Morgan and lighting designer Bill Peeler for the rocky exteriors, interiors backed by tubular towers emblazoned with the Klingon trident symbol, simulated transporters, lighted rear backdrops bearing projected English titles to accompany songs. As a special bonus for lovers of Star Trek: The Next Generation, actor John de Lancie, who played “Q,” was present to judge a costume contest and encourage opera newcomers to attend other productions. As stated in the projected video of opening credits, the production boldly went where (almost) no opera company has gone before. It was a hoot, musically sound and enthusiastically received by a very eclectic audience. Go figure. Diane Windeler

Opera Piccola: Abduction from the Seraglio

Musically sound, theatrically Enterprising

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Mr. Pedrillo (Tim Birt) puts the moves on Blondie (Rainelle Krause) Photos by Kristian Jaime

music

February 9, 2016 Burlesque (n) bɘr'-lesk – A coarse form of dramatic parody that seeks   to entertain through distortion or ridicule. For example, a well-known opera or piece of classical theatre or ballet is adapted into a broad comic play, usually a musical play, usually risqué in style, mocking the theatrical and musical conventions and styles of the original work. Well, that explains it: In the interest of making opera more entertaining and accessible (his words), Pacific Opera Project director Josh Shaw skewered Mozart's comic opera Abduction from the Seraglio in 2014 by making it a hysterically, um, far-out episode of the original 1960s Star Trek series. Opera Piccola brought the improbable production – from Kirk to Klingons, tranporters to tribbles – to the Empire Theatre last weekend and actually made it work. And, despite the onstage mayhem and outrageous new English libretto (also courtesy of Mr. Shaw, who stage-directed), Mozart’s sublime music was well served by all forces. The original story line involves a hero rescuing his captured beloved and her maid, along with his steward, from the harem of a cruel Turkish pasha. There is all manner of foolishness along the way, made easier for audiences to follow because of its Singspiel style, using spoken dialogue. Here, the singers have names adapted from the opera, but each is a familiar Star Trek character. Thus, the hero, Capt. Belmonte, is based on Capt. Kirk, while the others appear as Lt. Uhura, a green-skinned slavegirl, the Vulcan Spock and a Klingon Warlord. The setting is a rocky, uncharted planet, listed in the program as Anigav. Reading the name backwards, we knew we were in for a bumpy – not to mention bawdy – ride. And it was, with dozens of gosh-awful puns, slapstick and entendres that were sometimes double, but often just blatantly on target. Clear, smooth-voiced tenor Brian Cheney, who was in the original Star Trek Mozart production, cheerfully nailed and exaggerated virtually all of the William Shatner acting eccentricities. There were his shoulders-cocked sideways strides, the oddly stilted speech and, of course, the studied stances and preening. There were even his trademark barrel-rolls.Bass-baritone Gustav Andreassen as the Klingon guard Osmin (complete with double-pointed bat'leth sword) was both formidable and funny, depending on whether or not he was enticed into doing a softshoe routine or other nonsense in-between being, well, fearsome. The voice was rich, sonorous and impressively flexible. Soprano Julia Engel, Constanza garbed as Lt. Uhura, revealed a silken, well-trained instrument that negotiated the fioritura of the familiar aria about rejecting the Pasha’s advances (originally “Martern aller Arten”) with ease. Crystalline-voiced coloratura Rainelle Krause was charming as mossy-toned Blondie, who affected a cheesy Bronx accent and actually complained – wait for it – “It ain't easy being green.” Reedy lyric tenor Tim Birt as pointy-eared Mr. Pedrillo valiantly – and with none-too-subtle gestures – pondered his lusty human vs. stoic Vulcan sides as he considered his unexpectedly erotic reaction to Blondie. Veteran San Antonio actor Kevin Murray in the non-singing role of Chancellor Selim had little to do other than issue commands and look menacing until the finale, but he did so with appropriate ferocity. The Gorn (Andy Flemin) also showed up in this piece. That’s the fearsome reptilian alien that Capt. Kirk battled in a memorable mano-a-claw battle episode involving – among other primitive props – huge but obviously papier mache boulders being chunked at one another. There was time out for a theatrical recreation of the scene, done with recorded music and sound effects instead of orchestral accompaniment. The energetic chorus was composed of slavegirls petting furry tribbles and wearing a rainbow of brightly colored full-body leotard-skin and wigs. The male choristers were Klingons, all brandishing (and sometimes dancing with) those curved bat'leth swords. Confidently riding musical herd on all this foolishness was Kristin Roach, who led an excellent 26-piece orchestra (many wearing Star Trek uniforms) that did ample justice to Mozart’s glistening score but was willing to provide off-kilter fanfares or pa-dum-pum drum responses to increasingly painful jokes and puns. Kudos to set designer/builder Dave Morgan and lighting designer Bill Peeler for the rocky exteriors, interiors backed by tubular towers emblazoned with the Klingon trident symbol, simulated transporters, lighted rear backdrops bearing projected English titles to accompany songs. As a special bonus for lovers of Star Trek: The Next Generation, actor John de Lancie, who played “Q,” was present to judge a costume contest and encourage opera newcomers to attend other productions. As stated in the projected video of opening credits, the production boldly went where (almost) no opera company has gone before. It was a hoot, musically sound and enthusiastically received by a very eclectic audience. Go figure. Diane Windeler