As the last of Saturday’s sunlight filtered through the stained glass windows of First United Methodist Church of Evanston’s Tittle Chapel, three maidens raised their iPhones to record their anxious auditions to join the king’s quest for a unicorn. 

The anachronistic blend of the medieval and the contemporary is the signature stylistic element of composer Kate Soper’s opera “The Hunt,” which Cosmia Opera Collective put on for a small audience April 18. Bienen seniors Claire Coven, Cecelia Olszewski and Isabel Yang sang as three virgin women — the only characters in the show, other than a silent stable boy played by Bienen junior Tejas Gururaja  — who sign up to be used as “unicorn bait” by an unseen king.

Cosmia Opera Collective is a student-run group founded by Olszewski to put on operas written by “historically underrepresented composers.” “The Hunt” fits that bill literally and in terms of its content. Soper prompts reflections on the commodification of women’s bodies and the internet’s influence on female sexuality through the virgins’ update vlogs and the king’s passive-aggressive comments on their videos.

“The Hunt” does not present itself as either a traditional opera or the standard contemporary one. Instead, it lies somewhere between opera and musical theatre. The show has a 90-minute runtime, is plot-driven — though not necessarily action-packed — and is sung entirely in English. For the non-operagoer, it’s accessible, literal and light, though nonetheless thought-provoking. 

Tittle Chapel proved an ideal location for Cosmia Opera Collective’s production of “The Hunt,” which is already a neatly self-contained show. Coven, Olszewski and Yang performed the mostly a cappella score from behind music stands and accompanied themselves. Olszewski played the violin and Coven and Yang played ukulele. The venue’s acoustics highlighted their vocal performances. Sound effects, used sparingly, were managed by a one-man team — Bienen sophomore Tyler Shaver — from a front-row pew. 

Though staged minimally, Cosmia Opera Collective’s production of “The Hunt” takes a tasteful advantage of both its space and story. The actresses shifted from side to side of the narrow chapel throughout the show to illustrate their evolving relationships; returns to the original spacing signaled recurring moments like the vlog updates, lunchtime or mistaken unicorn sightings; and the stable boy’s consistent presence in the background reminded the audience of the subtly-imposing male gaze.   

For a show that does not leave much room for abstraction, Cosmia Opera Collective’s interpretation allows the student-run company’s voice to shine through. 

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