In This Story
The Center for the Arts season culminates May 3–4, 2025 with the highly anticipated world premiere of Virginia Opera’s Loving v. Virginia, based on the true story of Mildred and Richard Loving, a couple from Central Point, VA (pictured above, photo credit: Estate of Grey Villet). Criminally charged for their 1958 interracial marriage in Washington, DC and forced to leave Virginia to avoid prison sentences, they took their case to the Supreme Court and won a landmark victory for civil rights in the U.S. in 1967. Widely considered the beginning of the dismantling of “Jim Crow” race laws, the case paved the way for future cases addressing equality, including Obergefell v. Hodges which legalized same-sex marriage in 2015.
Composed by Damien Geter, a Virginia native praised by the Wall Street Journal for his “skillful vocal writing,” the opera features a libretto by Jessica Murphy Moo and is directed by Washington, D.C. native Denyce Graves. A mezzo-soprano recognized as “an operatic superstar of the 21st century” (USA Today), Graves has recently expanded her talents to include stage-directing with credits including Minnesota Opera, Glimmerglass Festival, and Portland Opera. Reflecting on her illustrious career to WETA Arts, Graves has said, “I’ve portrayed all kinds of characters. For more than 40 years, I’ve told all kinds of stories. And the stories that are most important to me to tell now are those stories of truth, of inclusion… those stories that remind us that we are more alike than unalike. That’s so vitally important for our survival.”
Offered in conjunction with the development of the work, a fall 2024 semester-long Mason Honors College class (HNRS 360), Opera as Social Change: Loving v. Virginia, taught by College of Visual and Performing Arts Dean Rick Davis, explores the history behind and development of this world premiere work, as well as other operas that have been credited with, or intended for, examining social issues.
Don’t miss this important world premiere production, telling a Virginia story that yielded a landmark moment in American history.
Culminating the 2024–25 Great Performances at Mason season at the Center for the Arts, this performance, which is also part of Virginia Opera's 50th anniversary season, is sponsored by Woodleigh Chase.