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Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies

Ross Hall Rm. #223

1000 E. University Ave.

Dept. #3392

Laramie, WY 82071

Phone: 307-766-3204

Email: relstudies@uwyo.edu

Email: philosophy@uwyo.edu

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Bugs in Opera?

Picture of a Locust

Insects Have Shaped Our World

One of the things wrong with the world today is the tragic lack of operas and Broadway plays about insects. Locusts in particular! The scourge of farmers the world over, and even one of the legendary Ten Plagues of Egypt, no one really pays them any attention anymore - at least in the industrialized world.

Which is a sad thing, because once upon a time, here in the United States, we had a similar scourge. Listen to the tale of a vanished menace, the story of the swarms of a savage insect, the Opera of the Locust!

But what is the Opera about?

Based on the highly acclaimed novel Locust: The Devastating Rise and Mysterious Disappearance of the Insect that Shaped the American frontier written by the University of Wyoming's very own Jeffrey Lockwood, which the Pulitzer Prize winning author Annie Prolix described as, “Gripping…fascinating…an entomological thriller.”, the opera is an environmental musical murder mystery!

Because nothing can possibly beat out musical insects.

Want more information? Of course you do! No one can resist insect operas!

Woodcut Image of a Locust

Wyoming opera to premiere in Jackson:

The Ghostly Tale of a Vanished Species
Laramie, Wyoming – August 23, 2018
 

“Locust”, a one hour chamber opera, will premiere at the National Wildlife Art Museum outside of Jackson, Wyoming on Friday, September 28, at 7:00 PM, with a reception following.  A matinee performance will be given on Saturday, September 29 at 1:00 PM.  People are encouraged to sign up for free tickets at https://bit.ly/LocustsOpera (a $20 freewill donation is suggested).  To make the events even more enticing, the University of Wyoming’s, ever popular Saturday University program will feature the team of UW faculty who created the opera, speaking from 9:00-Noon at the Stetson Public Library. 

“It is the story of the Rocky Mountain locust, an iconic species that blackened the skies in the 1800s with huge swarms but suddenly disappeared forever at the turn of the twentieth century", says the lyric author Jeffrey Lockwood. According to Dr. Anne Guzzo, the composer and a professor of music, “Jeff’s lyrics are potent, but music provides the emotional lens for me—and perhaps the audience—to truly understand the story and to be moved by its message of caring for the natural world.” 

Contact:

Dr. Anne Guzzo
University of Wyoming
Department of Music
Guzzo@uwyo.edu
(307) 399-5056 

Contact:

Dr. Jeffrey Lockwood
University of Wyoming
Department of Philosophy & Religious Studies
lockwood@uwyo.edu
(307) 766-4260

 

Contact Us

Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies

Ross Hall Rm. #223

1000 E. University Ave.

Dept. #3392

Laramie, WY 82071

Phone: 307-766-3204

Email: relstudies@uwyo.edu

Email: philosophy@uwyo.edu

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