Opera on Coruscant (ING)

Imperial News Grid - "Opera on Coruscant"

Posted by: Nikai Tonnak on Year 17 Day 162

CORUSCANT (IIS) - Ticket sales for cultural events have been at an all-time high thanks to the latest season of the Imperial Coruscant Opera Scene. The shockwaves rippling out from the brass kloo horns and metallic drumline sections of the orchestra in the first few bars of the latest incarnation of Quarren composer Flern Klaarm's masterpiece "12 Sonatas of Aquatis", affectionately inspired by the classic piece "Squid Lake", sent the Royal Imperial Auditorium rumbling and tumbling. Described by many visitors as not only a delight to the auditory senses, the visual accompaniment of the Quarren, Mon Calamari and Nautolan dancers swirling through spheres of fluid suspended on anti-gravity fields above the centre of the auditorium beautifully represented the culture of the respective species.

The highlight of this alien masterpiece is however reserved for the second act with the introduction of renowned Kuati tenor Wanya Bergonz and his partner, the Alderaanian soprano Kiri Popp. Popp's ability to blend subtlety with such an impressive vocal range plays beautifully against the delicate yet powerful tones of Bergonz. Several critics have gone as far as to claim that the two elevated the concert to such a high level that the alien influences felt out of place and detracted from the overall performance by drawing away attention from the serenity of the chorals performed by the human vocalists.Although historically known to often by more crude and low-brow than their human counterparts, alien-composed operas have seemingly found a new audience in the past few years. While this new style of opera offers no guarantees for quality like the classical Alderaanian composer Holann Cerbesian Bazjh or the Coruscanti Vornskrgang Aberdan Bolart of old, but the rich performance blending human vocals with the exotic visual display of the subaquatic dancers proved that the risk taken by the Maanari 1st Operatic Society and composer Klaarm was the right decision to make.