Equal parts affair of the heart and political thriller, Fellow Travelers explores the relationship between recent college graduate Timothy Laughlin and experienced State Department employee Hawkins Fuller. The opera is set during the McCarthy-era Lavender Scare, when thousands of suspected LGBTQ employees were humiliated, persecuted and fired from their jobs due to the perception that they were easily blackmailed and of weak moral character. Cuban-American tenor and Miami native Andres Acosta makes his Florida Grand Opera debut as the passionate Timothy. New Zealand baritone Hadleigh Adams, who jumped into the role of Stanley Kowalski in January’s production of A Streetcar Named Desire, is the suave Hawk. And rising soprano Adelaide Boedecker debuts as Hawk’s assistant, the beautiful young Mary Johnson. The story has passion, secrecy, and betrayal — and just about everything else you want in a new opera; Apr. 23-28; FGO.org.
