The Storm King (opera)

Written by Portentius Reichenbach, The Storm King tells the story of the rise and fall of the original Storm King, Andronicus Valois.

In the first act, Andronicus, head of the "Coalition of the West," fights the monster of Bludtharst Heterodyne to a standstill and is "hailed as 'the Storm King' in the unforgettable Hammerhead Chorus!" He then witnesses Euphrosynia Heterodyne being menaced by the "mad socrecerer-prince, Ogglespoon," and falls in love with her. The act closes with the spirit of Europa prophesying that only when Storm King and Heterodyne princess are wed will there be peace.

The second act features the "Rescue Dance," where Andronicus attempts to take Euphrosynia away from Oggelspoon, and the "Lover's Duet," apparently inspired by the sound of the mating call of the Irish Elk. Oggelspoon recaptures Euphrosynia, however, and traps Andronicus in a "bonzai hedge maze." The act closes with Andronicus vowing to search for Euphrosynia forever.

Apparently the third and final act shows how Andronicus' vow lead to the destruction of the Knights of Jove and brought his reign to a tragic end.

The Vienna Mechanikopera recently performed a revival of the opera featuring the original choreography of the Rescue Dance ("all seventeen soup waiters, three ladder teams, and the original rollerskating giraffe) and a cast that looked suspiciously like Tarvek (Andronicus) Agatha(Euphrosynia) and Gil(Oggelspoon). Whether this means anything to the plot is yet to be revealed.