Photo from the 2015 production.

Pacific Opera Project (POP) continues its 15th-anniversary celebration with three sold-out performances over the weekend of one of its greatest hits, the Star Trek-inspired version of Mozart’s Die Entführung aus dem Serail (Abduction from the Seraglio). The laugh-out-loud riot took place at Thorne Hall at Occidental College and also featured the Occidental Glee Club. The performance surely attracted Trekkies young and old, many of whom arrived in costume, making the event feel almost like a Star Trek convention. In fact, on Friday, special guest Walter Koenig, the original Chekov, presented the costume contest winner with a prize during intermission.

This was the second revival of Abduction at POP. Directed by POP’s Founding Artistic Director and CEO, Josh Shaw, the production premiered at the Southern Illinois Music Festival in June 2014 and then at POP a year later. The opera subsequently toured many opera companies across the country, and in 2016, POP remounted the show to mark the 50th anniversary of the original Star Trek series.

Klingons, Vulcans, and Orion slave girls were abundant in the show, which was presented in English, with book and lyrics by Shaw. In an interview, Shaw admitted to watching the first 20 episodes of the original series for inspiration before deciding on the concept. His libretto was set as a parody and peppered with nearly all the iconic quotes and references, delighting the audience. It was also filled with numerous jokes and sexual innuendos, including references to current political affairs.

In this adaptation, Belmonte became Cpt. James T. Belmonte, set to rescue his lover, the Uhura-like Lt. Konstanze, from the clutches of the Klingon leader, Chancellor Selim. Meanwhile, Mr. Spock’s relative, Mr. Pedrillo, struggled with his Vulcan-ness as he fell for Blondie, an Orion slave girl gifted to Osmin, Selim’s head of security. The rest of the story followed the intergalactic love entanglements, which, apparently, “boldly go where no opera company has gone before!”

Shaw managed to steer clear of the stereotypical problems in Abduction’s story; nobody batted an eyelid when the Klingons collected slave girls from across the galaxy. Nevertheless, I couldn’t help thinking that the insistence on slapstick comedy robbed the opera of many of its tender moments, particularly during the heartbreaking quartet “Ach Belmonte! Ach, mein Leben,” which closed Act II. (Here, there was only one intermission, right after “Martern aller Arten.”) Some of the jokes, too, grew old toward the end, as they were repetitive throughout.

Production-wise, this was a top-notch homage to Star Trek, down to the nitty-gritty details. Hailey Springer’s costumes and Shaw’s set designs could easily be mistaken for props from the original series. The Klingons’ headpieces and swords were exceptionally striking, as were the slave girls’ costumes. Blondie wore a green body suit. The simple set pieces looked adorably like they belonged in the ’60s, with the chorus bringing them on and off the stage, enabling smooth transitions. It was incredible to see how much thought went into building such a nice replica, and the audience loved every aspect of it. The whole thing even started with the “Space, the final frontier” video, right before the overture.

Musically, Mozart’s score reigned supreme, even in Bryan Higgins’ reduced-orchestration edition. Frequent conductor Caleb Yanez Glickman led the 21-person orchestra in a spirited reading. Glickman highlighted the music’s chamber-like quality, particularly in the brass and woodwinds. If anything, I only missed the full Janissary sound the original score provides, especially in the Overture and the two Janissary choruses. On the other hand, the presence of the 35 members of the Occidental Glee Club (led by Désirée La Vertu) gave those choruses full justice, making them sound full and sonorous. It was truly heartening to watch those young faces participating on stage, embracing their roles as Klingons and slave girls with relish.

For this revival, POP brought back four of the original 2015 cast, namely Brian Cheney, Shawnette Sulker, and Robert Norman as Cpt. Belmonte, Lt. Konstanze, and Mr. Pedrillo, respectively, along with Gregg Lawrence in the speaking role of Chancellor Selim. They were joined by soprano Amy Owens, making her POP debut as Blondie, and bass Andrew Potter as Osmin.

Photo from the 2015 production.

Cheney wholeheartedly channeled William Shatner in his portrayal of Capt. Belmonte, complete with all his mannerisms. In the interview above, he admitted he approached the role as a blend of Capt. Kirk and T.J. Hooker (another of Shatner’s creations). While his singing was fine and he developed a good rapport with everyone else, I personally found his Shatner impersonation left a little to be desired at times, particularly when he kept breaking the fourth wall to engage the audience.

I often encountered Sulker in the Bay Area, where she sang in many Baroque performances. She definitely made her presence felt in the demanding role of Lt. Konstanze, my favorite Mozart role for a soprano. On Friday, unfortunately, her coloratura sounded a bit effortful, with muddled notes at the very top. I hope it was just an off night for her.

There was a lot of fine singing from the secondary couple, Mr. Pedrillo and Blondie. Norman brought a gorgeous tone and great comic timing, especially in his aria “Frisch zum Kampfe,” which, in this production, hilariously became an exploration of “Am I Vulcan?” Similarly, Owens sounded bright and perky as Blondie, with great physicality and an amusing persona. Together, they turned Blondie’s aria “Welche Wonne, welche Lust” into a seduction scene that brought down the house.

Of all the principals, I was most impressed with Potter’s Osmin. With a towering presence and a deep, dark, booming voice, he made the role, one of the most difficult for a bass in opera, sound so effortless. It was great to hear the low D notes in “O, wie will ich triumphieren” so clearly sung, and he navigated the coloratura passages with ease. Lawrence completed the cast with his magnanimous portrayal of Chancellor Selim.

All in all, it was a completely fun night at the opera, and I could see why it was so popular. It was the perfect antidote to life’s stress and a great introduction for someone new to opera. By the end of the night, the long applause for everyone on stage definitely justified POP’s mission to “reimagine opera as an affordable adventure”. Next up is Turandot  with Clay Hilley and Shannon Jennings, running March 14-22 at Aratani Theatre in Little Tokyo.

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