'u' (opera)

’u’ ([ʔuʔ], beginning and ending with a glottal stop) 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.

The Klingon language 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. 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".

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