It was composed by Eef van Breen to a libretto by Kees Ligtelijn and Marc Okrand under the artistic direction of Floris Schönfeld.

The story of ʼuʼ is based on the epic legend of "Kahless the Unforgettable", a messianic figure in the history of the fictional Klingon species.

The producers hired linguist Marc Okrand for the sequels to expand this into a full-fledged language with its own unique vocabulary, grammar, and idioms.

[6][7] The opera was workshopped beginning 2008 in Europe and at the Watermill Center for the Performing Arts in Water Mill, New York.

He created an "ancient treatise" called the paqʼjachchuʼ, or "book of the perfect scream", as a "theory manuscript of Klingon music".

[9] KTRE crafted "indigenous" Klingon musical instruments, including percussion, wind and strings, designed by Xavier van Wersch, to accompany the opera.

On 18 April 2010, Okrand, on behalf of the KTRE, broadcast a message from the CAMRAS radio telescope to the hypothetical co-ordinates of QoʼnoS, the Klingon home planet, in the Arcturus solar system.

[4][13] The opera had its official debut at the Zeebelt Theater in The Hague, Netherlands, on 10 September 2010 (following a preview the day before) for a four-performance limited run.

[5] Audience reaction after the preview was enthusiastic,[13] and the opening night, which was attended by Marc Okrand,[18] sold out.

[19] The director of the Byrd Hoffman Watermill Foundation commented, "I found the result quite fascinating and interesting and strange and weird.

"[9] The opera was repeated later in September 2010 at the Star Trek fanclub meeting Qetlop in Farnsberg, near Bad Brückenau, Germany, "for an all-Klingon audience".