The Center for the Arts is thrilled to present the highly anticipated world premiere of Loving v. Virginia (May 3 & 4), a co-commission from Virginia Opera and the Richmond Symphony based on the true story of Mildred and Richard Loving. The couple from Central Point, VA was criminally charged for their 1958 interracial marriage and forced to leave Virginia to avoid prison sentences. In 1967, they courageously took their case to the Supreme Court and won a landmark victory for civil rights in this country. Widely considered the beginning of the dismantling of "Jim Crow" race laws, the case paved the way for future cases addressing equality, including Obergefel v. Hodges, which legalized same-sex marriage in 2015.
The opera is composed by Virginia native Damien Geter, features a libretto by Jessica Murphy Moo, and is directed by Washington, D.C.-native and celebrated mezzo-soprano Denyce Graves.
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“Mildred and Richard Loving made my own family possible,” said Murphy Moo. “What an honor and responsibility it is to be part of a team telling their story… The vision they were working toward—equality, home, love—these subjects are part of opera’s vast terrain. I know that composer Damien Geter’s music will make us all feel—in new ways—the weight and importance of the Lovings’ contribution to racial justice in America.”
The performances of this opera are being accompanied by community outreach and engagement programming, including the Pride in Black Voices: A Loving Community events, which took place this winter in locations throughout Virginia. The events, including the one March 17 in Fairfax, featured excerpts from the opera performed by Virginia Opera’s talented Herndon Foundation Emerging Artists, and a community Q&A session. The programming also included a February 6 event at the Sherwood Community Center: The Constitution and Loving v. Virginia, co-presented by the City of Fairfax and Center for the Arts.
“How the lived experience that is, at root, simply a celebration of love between a man and a woman became a Supreme Court case should ignite deep consideration for all freedom-loving Americans,” said Graves. “And it should because of the almost unfathomable animosities and clear misunderstandings that still swirl in the ethos of American engagement today. That Loving v. Virginia is now receiving operatic treatment will, I believe, lift this unique and particular story for the broader arts appreciating public to experience and to consider.”
We hope you’ll join us for this exciting world premiere event on May 3 and 4. See the Washington City Paper's Spring Arts Guide recommendation for Loving v. Virginia.