Opera San Jose opens its 35th season with a work that marks many firsts. Mozart’s The Abduction from the Seraglio is the first in the modern operatic repertoire and the first instance of an opera composed on a freelance basis—as Mozart was contracted to write the piece for Joseph II, the Holy Roman Emperor from 1764 to 1790. Audiences can see if they side with the emperor who commissioned the work (he complained that it contained “too many notes”), or with the composer who insisted: “There are just as many notes as there should be.” Runs through Sep. 30.
Abduction from the Seraglio
Sat, 8pm, $55+
California Theatre, San Jose
