Classically Speaking

Recently, I’ve been hearing about a new theater production in Charleston – Saint Stephen’s Dream: A Space Opera. Space is pretty cool, and I do like opera, so I spent a little bit of time finding out more about this production.

Merriam-Webster kindly tells me that a space opera is “a futuristic melodramatic fantasy involving space travelers and extraterrestrial beings.” Wikipedia elaborates and makes a special note:

“The term has no relation to music and it is analogous to "soap opera" (see below).”

Not anymore!

While Saint Stephen’s Dream is “a futuristic melodramatic fantasy involving space travelers,” it also involves music. It’s a folk/rock/experimental musical drama, with an intriguing interactive online aspect.  Creator Doug Imbrogno explains the whole thing in a brief interview:

For more info, visit the Saint Stephen’s Dream website, and check out the videos below. WestVirginiaVille.com presents four performances of Saint Stephen's Dream this weekend as part of FestivALL.

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* Turns out that some people call operas about space science fiction operas. There aren’t many of them, but one very cool example was written by one of my favorite professors – Paradises Lost by Stephen Andrew Taylor. It's a setting of novella by Ursula K. Le Guin. I'm definitely planning to see if I can swing an interview with the composer.