SHORT TAKES : ‘Three Oranges’ Offers Odors

The English National Opera, hoping to dazzle the senses of its audiences, has added something new to the sights and sounds of its latest production--smells.

Opera buffs who turn out for Serge Prokofiev’s “The Love of Three Oranges” get a little scratch-and-sniff card with six different odors of varying degrees of pleasantness.

A kitchen scene offers the smell of rotten meat. Another is the aroma of orange blossoms, and another the fragrance of exotic perfume. When a foul-breathed demon appears, audience members scratch a section that smells a bit like a cross between rotten eggs and, well, body odor.

An opening-night audience of 2,400 got their first whiff of the show Wednesday. The chorus signaled to the audience which numbered square to scratch and when. The opera company says the scratch-and-sniff cards would be used for 10 additional performances.

However, there are no plans to use the technique for any operas other than “Three Oranges,” a Russian opera that tells the tale of a prince who is in love with an orange that turns into a princess.