Pacific Opera Project Presents the Return of Star Trek-Inspired 'Abduction from the Seraglio,' Feb 6-8, 2026

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

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PACIFIC OPERA PROJECT PRESENTS
THE RETURN OF THEIR CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED,
STAR TREK-INSPIRED
ABDUCTION FROM THE SERAGLIO

FOR ONE WEEKEND ONLY

Feb 6-8, 2026
Thorne Hall, Occidental College

Los Angeles, CA — Pacific Opera Project (POP) starts 2026 with the return of their critically acclaimed, laugh-out-loud, Star Trek-inspired production of Mozart’s Abduction from the Seraglio on Friday, February 6, 2026 at 7:30PM; Saturday, February 7, 2026 at 7:30PM; and Sunday, February 8, 2026 at 3PM at Thorne Hall on the Occidental College campus in Los Angeles. Directed by POP Artistic Director Josh Shaw, conducted by Caleb Glickman, and featuring an entirely original libretto in English by Josh and Kelsey Shaw, this production was last performed in Los Angeles at The Ford in 2016. Original cast members tenors Brian Cheney, Robert Norman, and soprano Shawnette Sulker return in their roles as Captain James T. Belmonte, Mr. Pedrillo and Lt. Constanza, respectively. This production will feature the Occidental College Glee Club and College Chorus as members of the chorus, directed by Occidental College Department of Music Chair Desiree La Vertu.

When it initially premiered at the El Portal Theatre in Los Angeles in 2015, POP’s innovative staging of Abduction from the Seraglio received rave reviews from the Huffington Post, the Pasadena Independent, BroadwayWorld, and many more. CultureSpotLA praised the production, saying that Abduction showed that “with a dash of cleverness and a heaping helping of cheekiness, it’s possible to rekindle the relevance of centuries old operas for new audiences,” while the Pasadena Independent stated “don’t question it…the results are strangely glorious.” The Ford’s production of Abduction was cited by the Huffington Post as “a creative bit of genius,” going so far to say that larger opera companies such as LA Opera were taking note of POP’s propensity for successful, accessible stagings of classic operas.

Over ten years since its premiere, Abduction from the Seraglio still resonates with opera fans and Trekkies alike. Bringing the production back in 2026, Artistic Director Josh Shaw states: “It’s just too much fun and it’s been too long. If we were going to bring back any production to celebrate our 15th Season, it had to be Abduction. It’s the best dumb idea I’ve ever had, and there have been a few. I can’t wait to introduce new POP audience members to this absolute POP classic.”

In this production of Abduction of the Seraglio, the feared Klingon leader, Chancellor Selim, has captured three members of the Starfleet crew — Lieutenant Constanza, Blonde, and Mr. Pedrillo. When Captain James T. Belmonte beams down to Planet Anigav, he discovers that Constanza has become the Chancellor’s favorite, Pedrillo has been pressed into service as his scientific advisor, and Blonde has been given as a “gift” to Selim’s brutish head of security, Osmin. Belmonte’s first encounter is with Osmin, who is civil, until Belmonte mentions Pedrillo, his rival for Blonde’s affections. Osmin explodes with Klingon fury and drives him away. Pedrillo soon returns and tries to make peace, but Osmin’s temper is unpredictable. Belmonte and Pedrillo reunite, and Pedrillo explains that Selim loves Constanza but has vowed not to force himself upon her. Together they hatch a plan: Pedrillo will arrange a secret meeting between Belmonte and Constanza and prepare an escape — if they can get past Osmin…

?Cast members for Abduction from the Seraglio include tenor Brian Cheney (Virginia Opera, Opera Orlando) as Captain James T. Belmonte, tenor Robert Norman (LA Opera, Long Beach Opera) as Mr. Pedrillo, soprano Shawnette Sulker (San Francisco Opera, West Edge Opera) as Lt. Constanza, soprano Amy Owens (Santa Fe Opera, Houston Grand Opera) as Blondie, bass Andrew Potter (Metropolitan Opera, Seattle Opera, Dallas Opera) as Osmin, Gregg Lawrence as Chancellor Selim, and William Grundler as The Gorn.

General admission seating for Abduction from the Seraglio ranges from $15-$100. Tickets can be purchased at pacificoperaproject.com.

CALENDAR EDITORS PLEASE NOTE:
PACIFIC OPERA PROJECTS PRESENTS ABDUCTION FROM THE SERAGLIO
Who: Pacific Opera Project
When: Friday, February 6, 2026 at 7:30PM; Saturday, February 7, 2026 at 7:30PM; Sunday, February 8, 2026 at 3PM
Where: Thorne Hall, Occidental College; 1600 Campus Road, Los Angeles, California 90041
Cast: Brian Cheney as Captain James T. Belmonte, Robert Norman as Mr. Pedrillo, Shawnette Sulker as Lt. Konstanza, Amy Owens as Blondie, Andrew Potter as Osmin, Gregg Lawrence as Chancellor Selim & William Grundler as The Gorn
Creative Team: Josh Shaw, director, co-librettist, and production design; Caleb Glickman, music director; Desiree la Vertu, chorus director; Hailey Springer, costumer; Kelsey Shaw, co-librettist, Maggie Green, original costume designer

Recently named amongst the Best of Classical Music in 2024 by the LA Times, Los Angeles’s Pacific Opera Project (POP) reimagines opera as an affordable adventure, by making unforgettable, entertaining performances accessible for all. A mobile opera company, POP has presented over 67 productions in more than 20 venues, reaching over 65,000 audience members. LA Magazine writes, “If you think you hate opera, you’ve probably never seen a Pacific Opera Project show.” POP’s regularly sold-out performances take place in a variety of venues that celebrate LA’s Northeast and Downtown communities, including outdoor museums and cemeteries, small clubs, amphitheaters, and warehouses. LA Weekly named POP the “Best Opera Company in Los Angeles” in 2018, writing, “making opera cool, affordable, accessible and enticing to young audiences is easier said than done. It’s also something every opera company in the country is trying desperately to do… [POP] is not trying desperately to be hip. It just is.”

Known for unforgettable reimaginings of familiar operas, POP’s innovative productions have included the fan-favorite and critically acclaimed productions Mozart’s Abduction from the Seraglio set as an episode of Star Trek; a “fan-tastic” (LA Daily News) Harajuku-themed Mikado; #Superflute, a Magic Flute inspired by 1990s video games, called “one of the freshest takes on Mozart’s 1791 classic I have come across” (Operawire); and many more. POP’s signature take on Puccini’s La bohème, “AKA The Hipsters,” set in modern-day Los Angeles, has become a holiday tradition, returning year after year to sold-out audiences and called “riotous” (LA Weekly) and “an undeniably fun night at the theater that should not be missed” (Stage Raw).

During the pandemic, POP presented a revolutionary drive-in production of COVID fan tutte and the U.S. staged premieres of two Gluck operas, about which Opera Magazine wrote, “Despite this plague year of postponements, POP has refused to bow to the pandemic or its restrictions… There is surely no opera company in this Covid-ravaged country with a better average for 2020.” In April 2021, the LA Times noted that POP produced “the first major musical or theatrical event in Los Angeles County in nearly 14 months.” To this day, POP offers free live-streamed and archived performances that are available online to audiences around the world, garnering over 337,000 lifetime views.

In 2024, POP remounted its groundbreaking bilingual Japanese/English Madama Butterfly ???? performed in Little Tokyo’s JACCC Aratani Theatre. The LA Times hailed the production as “revisionist and enlightening,” continuing, “The singers… are believable and stunning. The tragedy has a kind of inevitability that feels more Mishima than the maudlin Italian original… Pacific Opera Project has a triumph on its hands.”

In addition to reimagining familiar favorites, POP is known for presenting undiscovered and forgotten gems, updated for modern audiences. POP presented the 2018 West Coast premiere of Giacomo Rossini’s rarely performed 1816 opera, La gazzetta “The Newspaper.” Opera Today raved about the premiere, writing “Director Josh Shaw has invested the proceedings with enough good comic ideas for at least three productions. Mr. Shaw has fashioned a take-no-prisoners approach to the staging, which was rife with clever touches… Pacific Opera Project has evidently hit on a winning formula for a night out, serving up food, drink, and an operatic discovery in equal measure.”

In 2024, POP presented the modern US premiere of Antonio Cagnoni’s bel canto meta-comedy, Don Bucefalo. Updated to the 1960s, the site-specific production was set and presented in Highland Park’s Garibaldina Society, recently featured in the LA Times for its family-style pasta dinners and Italian retro charm. To date, POP has presented four U.S. premieres, two world premieres, and three LA premieres.

POP’s Education & Community Engagement Department was established in 2021 to support ABIDE (Accessibility, Belonging, Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity), by offering free engagement events and serving students in in-school and summer education programs. POP’s in-school programs are provided at no cost to Title I schools.

Learn more at www.pacificoperaproject.com.

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