“Abduction From The Seraglio” blends Mozart and “Star Trek”
For two more weekends Scenic City Opera will boldly go where no production has gone before and bring together the contrasting worlds of opera and “Star Trek.”
This galactic version of “Abduction From The Seraglio” is the brainchild of Laura Sage, who ran The Lyric Opera of Los Angeles for 12 years before moving to Chattanooga. The show features the music of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, translated into English by director Josh Shaw, and the concept is based on a rescue mission of the girlfriends of three enslaved Starship Enterprise crewmembers.
Trekkies have lots of reasons to smile with Vulcans, Klingons, Enterprise characters and authentic costumes and sets all featured. (Come in costume and get $5 off admission.) This seemingly absurd marriage of two worlds is an attempt to give traditional opera a facelift, and draw in a new wave of fans, including sci-fi fanatics and others who may be looking for something different…and I do mean different.
“It’s the perfect mash-up of the two genres, and is seriously roll-on-the-floor, laugh-out-loud funny,” Sage comments. “Even if you aren’t a Trekkie, you’re going to be laughing at the antics. And if you’re already an opera lover, it’s a whole new take on an opera you’ve probably seen a jillion times.”