Wednesday night at the Dakota Tavern there were two Debauchery at The Dakota shows from Opera Revue and various more or less scantily clad friends.  We caught the early show.  It was a BDSM show (Bizet, Donizetti, Saint-Saëns, Mozart… what were you thinking?).  Actually this iteration probably stayed more operatic than previous Debaucheries though there were also plenty of show tune, cabaret and even comedy rock numbers plus, of course, burlesque.

A fine example came from the least scantily dressed friend; mezzo Jen Routhier, who gave us a really lovely “Mon cœur s’ouvre à ta voix” from Samson et Dalila which, inter alia, suggested to me that a smoky mezzo in a tight dress is every bit as sexy as a burlesque dancer slipping out of one which A’Slayna Von Hunt did with her usual panache.

Anyway, things started off as they had the previous show with Danie Friesen and Alex Hajek singing “Past the Point” while Forca provided the visual stimulation.  They finished in the same way too with Danie belting out “Youkali” while Tucker performed.  If you can imagine what a bearded Marie-Antoinette stripping might look like you’ll get the idea.  With, finally, inevitably, the audience participation number “Those Were the Days” to close things out suitably noisily.

Along the way the operatic highlights included more of Jen with the Seguidilla from Carmen, Danie with the Jewel Aria from Faust, Alex with “Bella Siccome” from Don Pasquale and the Catalogue Aria from Don Giovanni and Alex and Jen with the Locket Duet from Così.  All of course with Claire Harris on keyboards.  Most of this was done with minimal burlesque accompaniment and this time the audience didn’t seem to mind and appeared from where I was sitting to be enjoying the opera as much as the raunchier bits.

To which we now turn… it was a mix of the humorous and the out and out raunchy, albeit always with a wry smile.  Danie showed that BDSM doesn’t have to be about composers with “Sherman and Madeline”.  Alex got explicit with A’Slayna in “*uck her gently”.  Jen got wistful with “Toothbrush Time” and so on.  Along the way there was plenty of inventive burlesque with outer clothes and underclothes flying in all directions.

It was a lot fun and it felt like a more integrated show than first time around.