The Abduction of Figaro

You’re probably thinking of The Marriage of Figaro, an opera by Mozart. This isn’t Mozart. Performed in 1984 by the Minnesota Opera Company… betcha didn’t know Minnesota had one of those… this impressive mounting of P.D.Q Bach’s opus will leave you humming the tunes and trying to remember the names of all the characters. Especially the pirate… betcha didn’t know Minnesota had one of those, either.

Right… there never actually was a composer named P.D.Q. Bach, but this hasn’t stopped his creator, Peter Schickele, from “discovering” a remarkable canon of his works. This one, complete with pedal-steel guitar, stolen arias, a eunuch, leeches and the title character in a coma throughout the performance, is everything traditional opera wouldn’t dare attempt on a bet. I couldn’t believe it was actually available on DVD… we laughed our asses off all over again.