Earth has witnessed its first Klingon opera.

On Friday in The Hague, Netherlands, the Terran Research Ensemble raised the curtain on "U," the first Earth opera performed entirely in Klingon. "U" is the Klingon word for "universe" or "universal," and the opera tells the story of Kahless the Unforgettable, said to be the first Klingon emperor.

"Klingon are known as passionate opera lovers but at the same time very little was known about Klingon opera here so as far as I was concerned that was a very interesting challenge to try and make an authentic, or as authentic, something out of that as possible," U co-creator Floris Schonfeld told Reuters and The BBC.

By "here," he means Earth.

Schonfeld said he has invited the people of Klingon to see the show during its three day run in the 100-seat Zeebelt theatre in The Hague or a later run in Frankfurt Germany, but he believes they are unlikely to arrive in time. "The difficulty is that our message will reach Kronos in thirty-six years from now, and it will take them awhile to develop the technology for them to travel back here," he said. "It's a long shot but I'm still very hopeful."

If you're in the UK, you can enjoy view snippets from the opera – and Schonfeld's straight face – here. ®