Événement

STAGGERWING Encore Performance

See the encore performance of during the world premiere week of the winner of the 2020 Zepick Modern Opera Competition, STAGGERWING. Staggerwing, a new chamber opera by Lisa DeSpain and Rachel J. Peters, dramatizes the historical flight of Louise Thaden and her co-pilot, Blanche Noyes, as they compete in the grueling transcontinental 1936 Bendix Trophy Race; the first year the prestigious aviation competition allowed all-female teams to compete. The Bendix was fraught with danger as competitors pushed the boundaries of aeronautics. Intercut between the intense intimacy and confinement of the plane and expansive episodes of the womens pasts and crucial events leading up to the race, we witness Louise and Blanche navigating the physical risks of their flight, work, personal tragedies and the sexism of a male-dominated field, emerging victorious. Lisa DeSpains score is inspired by the territory jazz bands of the 1930s with their unique blend of the blues, syncopated jazz, and the great Tin Pan Alley composers of the era.