L.A. Opera Takes Mozart for a Roaring ‘20s Ride on the Orient Express in ‘The Abduction From the Seraglio’

True fans of the opera know something that most do not. Opera is exciting. And not simply in the sense that an opera buff’s passion makes everything about it exciting, but that it has plots and spectacle that rival the latest Marvel blockbuster. Love. Romance. Battle and war.

Take Mozart’s “The Abduction from the Seraglio,” written between 1781 and 1782. It concerns a young hero by the name of Belmonte, who discovers that his betrothed Kontanze, along with their servants Blonde and Pedrillo, have been kidnapped by pirates and sold to Pasha Selim in Turkey. Quite naturally, the leading man rushes off to rescue his loved ones from the Pasha’s Seraglio – the living quarters for wives and concubines, guarded by Pasha Selim’s diabolical henchman, Osmin.

The L.A. Opera’s upcoming production of “The Abduction from the Seraglio” puts a further twist on Mozart’s beloved classic by moving the action from Turkey of the distant past to the Roaring ‘20s, with the damsels in distress trapped in the Pasha’s luxurious car on the Orient Express. This change infuses the opera with a touch of the great comic musicals from the Golden Age of Hollywood, as well as no small amount of Agatha Christie-style mystery and thriller.

It is worth pausing a moment and addressing that the premise of “The Abduction from the Seraglio,” while very exciting, can seem somewhat dated to modern eyes. From today’s point of view, the story of a nefarious foreigner kidnapping and enslaving women might seem politically incorrect. But examinations of the Orient and its eunuchs and harems were popular in literature of the 18th Century. So stick around until curtain, you just might be surprised to see where this story ends.

Featuring bass Morris Robinson as Osmin, the “The Abduction from the Sergalio” will be sung in Mozart’s original German with projected English translations and English dialog.

The Abduction from the Seraglio” runs Jan. 28 to Feb. 19 at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion. Tickets are available at L.A. Opera’s website