’u’
Encyclopedia
’u’ is the first opera
in the Klingon language
, billed as "The first authentic Klingon opera on Earth". It was composed by Eef van Breen
to a libretto
by Kees Ligtelijn and Marc Okrand
under the artistic direction of Floris Schönfeld. The story of ’u’ is based on the epic legend of "Kahless
the Unforgettable", a messianic figure in the fictional Klingon
history.
The premiere of the opera in The Hague
on 10 September 2010 was a success, and the opera has been revived since then.
was first conceived by actor James Doohan
, who played Montgomery Scott
("Scotty") in the original Star Trek
television series, for Star Trek: The Motion Picture
(1979). He created some harsh-sounding words to be spoken by Klingon
characters (although these were cut from the first Star Trek film). The producers hired linguist Marc Okrand
for the sequels to expand this into a full-fledged language with its own unique vocabulary, grammar and idioms. Okrand designed the language to sound "alien", using a number of typologically
uncommon features. As Klingon characters became more important in later Star Trek films and television series, Okrand continued to expand the language, and it has become a spoken language with a number of fluent speakers.
As depicted in Star Trek, the Klingons are passionate opera lovers. According to the official webpage for the opera, "Klingon opera uses the principle of musical combat. Beauty in Klingon music comes from the impact of two opposing forces." ’u’ is translated to English as "universe" or "universal".
The opera was workshopped beginning 2008 in Europe and at the Watermill Center for the Performing Arts in Water Mill, New York
. Artistic and stage director and "head researcher" of the ’u’ project and the Klingon Terran Research Ensemble (KTRE), Floris Schönfeld, carefully researched all mentions and examples of Klingon opera in the various incarnations of Star Trek in order to make the opera as "authentic" as possible in following the conventions of Klingon battle opera. He created an "ancient treatise" called the "paq’jachchcu, or book of the perfect scream", as a "theory manuscript of Klingon music". KTRE crafted "indigenous" Klingon musical instruments, including percussion, wind and strings, designed by Xavier van Wersch, to accompany the opera.
Publicity for ’u’ included lectures and performances by Schönfeld and KTRE at SF conventions and elsewhere. On 18 April 2010, Okrand, on behalf of the KTRE, broadcast a message from the CAMRAS
radio telescope
to the hypothetical co-ordinates of Qo’noS, the Klingon home planet, in the Arcturus solar system. The message, in the Klingon language, invited the Klingons to attend the opera, although the message presumably did not reach the planet in time for the performance, since Qo’noS is 36 light years from Earth.
, Netherlands, on 10 September 2010 (following a preview the day before) for a four-performance limited run. The Dutch artist Henri van Zanten
narrated the opera as the Master of the Scream. The opera was produced by Zeebelt and KTRE, which is associated with the ArtScience department of the Royal Conservatory
in The Hague.
Audience reaction after the preview was enthusiastic, and the opening night, which was attended by Marc Okrand, sold out. The director of the Byrd Hoffman Watermill Foundation commented, "I found the result quite fascinating and interesting and strange and weird." The opera was repeated later in September 2010 at the Star Trek fanclub meeting "Qetlop" in Farnsberg, near Bad Brückenau
, Germany, "for an all-Klingon audience". It was performed again on 23 and 24 November at the Frascati Theater in Amsterdam
.
In 2011 the opera was performed at the Voi-Z opera festival in Zwolle
on 5 April and at the Huygens Music Festival in Leidschendam
on 28 May.
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Act 1 – yav
While hunting with his brother Morath, Kahless
expresses anger when Morath causes him to miss his prey. Morath vows to avenge this humiliation. The tyrant Molor offers to elevate Morath to the head of his house if he betrays his and Kahless's father. Morath accepts. With Molor's men, Morath enters his father's house, seizes his sword and demands that his father surrender the house. When his father refuses, Morath brutally slays his father. Kahless vows to restore their father's honor. He pursues Morath to the Kri'stak volcano. After the brothers fight, Morath throws himself into the volcano. Kahless forges the first bat'leth (or “Sword of Honor”) in the volcano, from his own hair.
Act 2 – raD
The sorrowful Kahless makes an epic journey to the underworld
. There he is united with his father and forgives his brother. He shows them the mok'bara, enabling them to regain their bodies. Kotar, the guardian of the underworld, is enraged to find two of his souls missing. Kahless raises troops for a rebellion against Molor. He meets his true love, the Lady Lukara, who assists him when he is attacked by Molor's men. Together, they defeat Molor's men and make violent love in the blood of their enemies.
Act 3 – QIH
At the river, the armies have assembled. Kahless inspires his troops with a rousing speech. Kotar arrives and is also stirred by Kahless's honorable motives. He agrees to join the fight and to create a heaven for the Klingon warriors. Kahless, his father and brother fight together against their enemies. The latter two are honorably killed, and Kahless's death scream sends them to heaven. Kahless faces Molor and kills him, cuts out his heart and cleans it in the river to restore Molor's honor. With the Lady Lukara's help, Kahless commits ritual suicide; Lukara's death scream sends him to join his father and brother. The Klingon people are united.
Videos related to the opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
in the Klingon language
Klingon language
The Klingon language is the constructed language spoken by the fictional Klingons in the Star Trek universe....
, billed as "The first authentic Klingon opera on Earth". It was composed by Eef van Breen
Eef van Breen
Eef van Breen is a Dutch jazz trumpeter, singer, arranger and composer.- External links :* *...
to a libretto
Libretto
A libretto is the text used in an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata, or musical. The term "libretto" is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major liturgical works, such as mass, requiem, and sacred cantata, or even the story line of a...
by Kees Ligtelijn and Marc Okrand
Marc Okrand
Marc Okrand is an American linguist and is most notable as the creator of the Klingon language, which he speaks.-Biography:Okrand worked with Native American languages. He earned a bachelor's degree from the University of California, Santa Cruz in 1972...
under the artistic direction of Floris Schönfeld. The story of ’u’ is based on the epic legend of "Kahless
Kahless
In the fictional Star Trek universe, Kahless the Unforgettable is a legendary Klingon portrayed in Star Trek: The Original Series by Robert Herron and in Star Trek: The Next Generation by Kevin Conway.-History of Kahless:...
the Unforgettable", a messianic figure in the fictional Klingon
Klingon
Klingons are a fictional warrior race in the Star Trek universe.Klingons are recurring villains in the 1960s television show Star Trek: The Original Series, and have appeared in all five spin-off series and eight feature films...
history.
The premiere of the opera in The Hague
The Hague
The Hague is the capital city of the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. With a population of 500,000 inhabitants , it is the third largest city of the Netherlands, after Amsterdam and Rotterdam...
on 10 September 2010 was a success, and the opera has been revived since then.
Background
The Klingon languageKlingon language
The Klingon language is the constructed language spoken by the fictional Klingons in the Star Trek universe....
was first conceived by actor James Doohan
James Doohan
James Montgomery "Jimmy" Doohan was a Canadian character and voice actor best known for his role as Montgomery "Scotty" Scott in the television and film series Star Trek...
, who played Montgomery Scott
Montgomery Scott
Montgomery "Scotty" Scott is a Scottish engineer in the Star Trek media franchise. First portrayed by James Doohan in the original Star Trek series, Scotty also appears in the animated Star Trek series, seven Star Trek movies, the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "Relics", and in numerous...
("Scotty") in the original Star Trek
Star Trek
Star Trek is an American science fiction entertainment franchise created by Gene Roddenberry. The core of Star Trek is its six television series: The Original Series, The Animated Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise...
television series, for Star Trek: The Motion Picture
Star Trek: The Motion Picture
Star Trek: The Motion Picture is a 1979 American science fiction film released by Paramount Pictures. It is the first film based on the Star Trek television series. The film is set in the twenty-third century, when a mysterious and immensely powerful alien cloud called V'Ger approaches the Earth,...
(1979). He created some harsh-sounding words to be spoken by Klingon
Klingon
Klingons are a fictional warrior race in the Star Trek universe.Klingons are recurring villains in the 1960s television show Star Trek: The Original Series, and have appeared in all five spin-off series and eight feature films...
characters (although these were cut from the first Star Trek film). The producers hired linguist Marc Okrand
Marc Okrand
Marc Okrand is an American linguist and is most notable as the creator of the Klingon language, which he speaks.-Biography:Okrand worked with Native American languages. He earned a bachelor's degree from the University of California, Santa Cruz in 1972...
for the sequels to expand this into a full-fledged language with its own unique vocabulary, grammar and idioms. Okrand designed the language to sound "alien", using a number of typologically
Linguistic typology
Linguistic typology is a subfield of linguistics that studies and classifies languages according to their structural features. Its aim is to describe and explain the common properties and the structural diversity of the world's languages...
uncommon features. As Klingon characters became more important in later Star Trek films and television series, Okrand continued to expand the language, and it has become a spoken language with a number of fluent speakers.
As depicted in Star Trek, the Klingons are passionate opera lovers. According to the official webpage for the opera, "Klingon opera uses the principle of musical combat. Beauty in Klingon music comes from the impact of two opposing forces." ’u’ is translated to English as "universe" or "universal".
The opera was workshopped beginning 2008 in Europe and at the Watermill Center for the Performing Arts in Water Mill, New York
Water Mill, New York
Water Mill is a census-designated place in Suffolk County, New York, USA, and a hamlet of the Town of Southampton. The population was 1,724 at the 2000 census. Water Mill is the correct name per local government and the United States Postal Service...
. Artistic and stage director and "head researcher" of the ’u’ project and the Klingon Terran Research Ensemble (KTRE), Floris Schönfeld, carefully researched all mentions and examples of Klingon opera in the various incarnations of Star Trek in order to make the opera as "authentic" as possible in following the conventions of Klingon battle opera. He created an "ancient treatise" called the "paq’jachchcu, or book of the perfect scream", as a "theory manuscript of Klingon music". KTRE crafted "indigenous" Klingon musical instruments, including percussion, wind and strings, designed by Xavier van Wersch, to accompany the opera.
Publicity for ’u’ included lectures and performances by Schönfeld and KTRE at SF conventions and elsewhere. On 18 April 2010, Okrand, on behalf of the KTRE, broadcast a message from the CAMRAS
Dwingeloo Radio Observatory
The Dwingeloo Radio Observatory , is a single dish radio telescope with a diameter of 25 m. Construction started in 1954, the telescope was completed in 1956. At that time it was the largest radio telescope in the world...
radio telescope
Radio telescope
A radio telescope is a form of directional radio antenna used in radio astronomy. The same types of antennas are also used in tracking and collecting data from satellites and space probes...
to the hypothetical co-ordinates of Qo’noS, the Klingon home planet, in the Arcturus solar system. The message, in the Klingon language, invited the Klingons to attend the opera, although the message presumably did not reach the planet in time for the performance, since Qo’noS is 36 light years from Earth.
Productions and reaction
The opera had its official debut at Theater Zeebelt in The HagueThe Hague
The Hague is the capital city of the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. With a population of 500,000 inhabitants , it is the third largest city of the Netherlands, after Amsterdam and Rotterdam...
, Netherlands, on 10 September 2010 (following a preview the day before) for a four-performance limited run. The Dutch artist Henri van Zanten
Henri van Zanten
Henri Carel van Zanten is a Dutch artist, based in Rotterdam.Van Zanten spent a large part of his youth in Canada and South Africa. Because of that he could easily adapt to new environments and languages....
narrated the opera as the Master of the Scream. The opera was produced by Zeebelt and KTRE, which is associated with the ArtScience department of the Royal Conservatory
Royal Conservatory of The Hague
The Royal Conservatory of The Hague is a conservatorium of music, providing higher education in music and dance, it is located in The Hague, Netherlands.-The Conservatory:...
in The Hague.
Audience reaction after the preview was enthusiastic, and the opening night, which was attended by Marc Okrand, sold out. The director of the Byrd Hoffman Watermill Foundation commented, "I found the result quite fascinating and interesting and strange and weird." The opera was repeated later in September 2010 at the Star Trek fanclub meeting "Qetlop" in Farnsberg, near Bad Brückenau
Bad Brückenau
Bad Brückenau is a spa town in Bad Kissingen district in northern Bavaria. It is situated in the Rhön Mountains, 30 kilometers south of Fulda.-Geography:Bad Brückenau is located in the valley of the River Sinn, in the western part of the Rhön Mountains...
, Germany, "for an all-Klingon audience". It was performed again on 23 and 24 November at the Frascati Theater in Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
.
In 2011 the opera was performed at the Voi-Z opera festival in Zwolle
Zwolle
Zwolle is a municipality and the capital city of the province of Overijssel, Netherlands, 120 kilometers northeast of Amsterdam. Zwolle has about 120,000 citizens.-History:...
on 5 April and at the Huygens Music Festival in Leidschendam
Leidschendam
Leidschendam is a town and former municipality in the province of South Holland of the Netherlands. Along with Voorburg and Stompwijk, it is part of the municipality Leidschendam-Voorburg.- History :...
on 28 May.
Synopsis
While hunting with his brother Morath, Kahless
Kahless
In the fictional Star Trek universe, Kahless the Unforgettable is a legendary Klingon portrayed in Star Trek: The Original Series by Robert Herron and in Star Trek: The Next Generation by Kevin Conway.-History of Kahless:...
expresses anger when Morath causes him to miss his prey. Morath vows to avenge this humiliation. The tyrant Molor offers to elevate Morath to the head of his house if he betrays his and Kahless's father. Morath accepts. With Molor's men, Morath enters his father's house, seizes his sword and demands that his father surrender the house. When his father refuses, Morath brutally slays his father. Kahless vows to restore their father's honor. He pursues Morath to the Kri'stak volcano. After the brothers fight, Morath throws himself into the volcano. Kahless forges the first bat'leth (or “Sword of Honor”) in the volcano, from his own hair.
Act 2 – raD
The sorrowful Kahless makes an epic journey to the underworld
Underworld
The Underworld is a region which is thought to be under the surface of the earth in some religions and in mythologies. It could be a place where the souls of the recently departed go, and in some traditions it is identified with Hell or the realm of death...
. There he is united with his father and forgives his brother. He shows them the mok'bara, enabling them to regain their bodies. Kotar, the guardian of the underworld, is enraged to find two of his souls missing. Kahless raises troops for a rebellion against Molor. He meets his true love, the Lady Lukara, who assists him when he is attacked by Molor's men. Together, they defeat Molor's men and make violent love in the blood of their enemies.
Act 3 – QIH
At the river, the armies have assembled. Kahless inspires his troops with a rousing speech. Kotar arrives and is also stirred by Kahless's honorable motives. He agrees to join the fight and to create a heaven for the Klingon warriors. Kahless, his father and brother fight together against their enemies. The latter two are honorably killed, and Kahless's death scream sends them to heaven. Kahless faces Molor and kills him, cuts out his heart and cleans it in the river to restore Molor's honor. With the Lady Lukara's help, Kahless commits ritual suicide; Lukara's death scream sends him to join his father and brother. The Klingon people are united.
Roles and original cast
- Master of the Scream (narrator) – Henri van ZantenHenri van ZantenHenri Carel van Zanten is a Dutch artist, based in Rotterdam.Van Zanten spent a large part of his youth in Canada and South Africa. Because of that he could easily adapt to new environments and languages....
- Kahless – Taru Huotari
- Kotar, Father and Molor – Ben Kropp
- Morath and Lukara – Jeannette Huizinga
External links
General links- ’u’ Official website
- KTRE's website
- Photo of Klingon instruments used to accompany the opera
- Interview with ’u’ creator linking opera's debut with lessons of 9/11
- Feature on the opera from the Rachel Maddow Show
Videos related to the opera
- Scene from the opening night performance, September 2010, YouTube clip
- Snippets of the opera and interviews, September 2010, BBC News
- "Recreating the primal sound of Klingon opera", July 2008, YouTube clip
- Klingon broadcast to Qo’nos: Invitation to attend the opera, April 2010, YouTube clip