Love Tabasco? A burlesque opera about the fiery sauce is opening this month in New Orleans

There’s something fiery afoot in New Orleans. Later in January, the New Orleans Opera will put on a Tabasco-themed burlesque show in honor of the hot sauce brand’s 150th anniversary. The show, titled Tabasco: A Burlesque Opera, will run from Jan. 25 to Jan. 28 and tickets range from $30 to $50.

2018 is a special year for both New Orleans and Tabasco. The famous hot sauce brand, which was founded in Louisiana, turns 150, and the Big Easy is celebrating its tricentennial. A slew of festivities — including special museum exhibitions, concerts and next-level Mardi Gras — will be taking place in the city known for letting the good times roll.

As for the burlesque opera, it premiered in the 1890s, but fighting over show royalties interrupted the tour, and it was thought that parts of the music were lost, according to the Times-Picayune. The 2018 revival of Tabasco marks the first time in over a century that the entire show will be performed.

Described as a “lighthearted, comedic opera” in the press release, the show is set in Tangier, Morocco, and tells the story of a “shipwrecked Irish sailor as he searches for an acceptable spicy ingredient for an Ottoman ruler’s lunch.”

Sounds relatable. Who among us hasn’t searched for a way to spice up lunch?

The show was composed by George Whitefield Chadwick, a prolific composer who died in 1931. In 2014, the Times-Picayune described the Tabasco opera as “cheerful” and “bouncy.” Decide for yourself by listening to the overture to Tabasco in the clip below — preferably while eating scrambled eggs speckled with Tabasco.