Klingon Opera Comes To Earth
“You have never experienced Shakespeare until you have read him in the original Klingon.” – Chancellor Gorkon, Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
For too long we Earthlings have languished with only glimpses of Klingon opera, but as of September 9, 2010, that’s all going to change. The Terran Klingon Research Council has developed a full-length opera based on fragments of artifacts. A message announcing this performance has been broadcast in the general direction of Qo’nos, the Klingon homeworld. The Klingon government has yet to respond.
U the Opera was announced this year at FedCon. It’s based upon the story of Kahless, a hero of Klingon legend. Klingon “artifacts” from which the work was based were displayed in the gallery at Stroom den Haag last spring, and the U project has been in the works for two years.
This is the sort of thing I love about fan culture. Something like this transcends fanfiction and can only be recognized as art. The show isn’t just theater, it’s an experience; artifacts and viral advertising extending it into something in which the audience participates.
Sadly, I won’t be participating as it would mean a trans-Atlantic flight. I can only hope the creators post excerpts online soon.
