Anime and opera meld for OperAnime

Opera and anime don’t usually mix. But that doesn’t mean they can’t. On Friday outside the Fisch Haus Art Gallery, Opera Kansas will present a unique take on the arts with OperAnime: one part opera, two parts anime and manga.

The event is part of Opera Kansas’ goal to make classical music more accessible. Paul Smith, artistic director for Opera Kansas, called it “the perfect way to show young people that opera can be fun.”

OperAnime will be anything but drawn-out, with three performances lasting only 15 minutes each. Smith said that in between performances, there will be audience-focused events, including skits based on favorite anime or manga (Japanese comics), a cosplay (costume) contest, and a Fan Fiction writing competition. By the end of the evening, a winner from each category will be awarded a prize.

Smith, an assistant professor of applied music/voice at Friends University, created the event. OperAnime will modernize the late-1880s opera “My New Maid” and bring it into the modern era by parodying “The Black Butler,” the popular Japanese manga comic and anime.

“The opera is basically a situation comedy with one character teasing the other character,” Smith said. “I went back and changed the text and modernized” “My New Maid.” As for how he worked in “The Black Butler,” he said, “It’s not exactly the anime because, of course, it is copyrighted. So it’s a parody of it. I got as close as I could get to the characters without changing the entire opera around.”

Since it is an opera, music will obviously be a part of the performance. “The music is very accessible, almost the beginnings of what music theater would be. It’s very easy to listen to – comedic, fast-paced,” Smith said.

For those unfamiliar with the parody source, “My Black Butler” is a dark story of a boy who sells his soul to a demon to seek revenge on those who caused his family’s death. It just so happens that the demon is also his black-clad butler. The anime ran for 24 episodes in 2008, but the manga (also known as “Kuroshitsuji”) published over 100 issues.

Smith mostly studied the anime for creating OperAnime. “There’s always some sort of Italian music going on in the background, or singing. It’s one of those things that the people who watch this are getting the access … but it’s in the background. So bringing that to the foreground … I think gives them a different look at that art form.”

Opera Kansas was created in 1985 to help bring quality opera performances to Wichita and engage the audience. Members work with local schools and retirement communities and put on the occasional show.

This story was originally published October 29, 2015 at 3:29 PM with the headline "Anime and opera meld for OperAnime."