This isn't your typical opera show.
Mitch Sebastian's "The Opera Show," described as "a vivid MTV-style presentation" on the Ball State University Web site, remixes traditional opera masterpieces with modern characterizations and choreography.
"The Opera Show" will be performed 7:30 p.m. at John R. Emens Auditorium. Tickets for Ball State students are $5.
Emens Associate Director of Marketing Darcy Wood said the production, which highlights the most famous selections from operas like "Carmen," "Rigoletto" and "The Magic Flute," is ideal for students who have never seen an opera before.
"This is not a full-length opera presentation, rather a sampling of several operas done in a very unique and sometimes modern fashion," Wood said in an e-mail. "It's opera for newcomers and enthusiasts alike."
Assistant professor of voice Joseph Levitt said the purpose of contemporary opera productions like "The Opera Show" aim to make opera, which has been historically viewed as upper-society entertainment, more accessible to the public.
In recent decades, renowned operas have been rewritten and transformed into successful Broadway musicals. Productions like "Rent," inspired by the opera "La Bohème," draw a larger youth following than the original, he said.
In order to attract younger viewers, "The Opera Show" has cut famous operas, such as Rossini's "Barber of Seville," into vignettes and updated them with different settings. Some of the pieces rely on accompaniment from bands instead of a full orchestra, and other changes affect characterization and pace, Levitt said.
"It's as if you took Shakespeare's ‘To be or not to be' and reset it on the streets of Palestine with someone who is trying to express his or her anguish at the Arab conflict," he said. "It's completely different, right? But it's still Shakespeare, still his words."
Levitt said he urges students to see "The Opera Show" for a rich cultural experience — one that costs the same as a cup of coffee from Starbucks.
"I want students to realize there's a lot more out there than Facebook, Starbucks and texting," he said. "I hope those who attend, if nothing else, will take a chance on another opera or theatre piece, because they will be better people for it."
What: Mitch Sebastian's "The Opera Show"
When: 7:30 p.m.
Where: Emens Auditorium
Tickets: $5 for Ball State students with ID
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