When the Wright Brothers first took flight in 1903 they couldn't have imagined how air travel would evolve from an inventor's dream into a tool of commerce complete with cramped seating. With the dance opera "Test Pilot," which had its world premiere Friday night at The O'Shaughnessy in St. Paul, choreographer Penelope Freeh and composer Jocelyn Hagen have put the romance back into flying, with a visually and aurally striking creation that both turns back time and contemplates the future.

The work focuses on the story of Orville and Wilbur Wright (portrayed by James Sewell Ballet members Nic Lincoln and Cory Goei) but their sister Katharine (soprano Carrie Henneman Shaw) is the spiritual guide as she observes her brothers building their aircraft. And yet "Test Pilot" is more than a historical exercise. Freeh and Hagen explore the ramifications of the Wrights' achievement — from the use of air power in battle to the advent of other flight pioneers like Amelia Earhart. Even a recent Delta Air Lines theme song makes it's way into the libretto: "Ascending, we reflect on what was left behind and what is yet ahead."

Freeh's choreography is as sleek and streamlined as a jet body. When she and fellow dancer Stephanie Fellner crisscross the stage you imagine contrails billowing behind them. Lincoln and Goei's movement is more industrious at first as they pursue their important task, but toward the end they also bound with grace. Justin Schell's well-placed video projections show the original telegram announcing the Wright Brothers' achievement.

Hagen's composition comes to vivid life through the voices of singers Nathan Bird, Gary Ruschman, Scott Sandersfeld, Timothy C. Takach and David Walton, plus a stellar string quartet (James Garlick, Margaret Humphrey, Kirsten Whitson and Matthew Williams). Most intriguing is the recitation of the aviation alphabet ("Alpha, Bravo, Charlie …") and flight terms ("pitch, roll") set to song, a theme that carries through the evening.

The crackling energy of "Test Pilot" dips at times, and sometimes returns to ideas that were clear enough the first time around, such as the repetition of a song set to Octave Chanute's 1894 essay "Progress in Flying Machines" which foretells the use of flight in war and global communication. But like all innovators, it's certain that Freeh and Hagen will continue to refine this project until it truly soars.

Caroline Palmer writes about dance.