Opera: “Loving v. Virginia”.
https://www.damiengetermusic.com/loving-vs-virginia
About the resource
“It's kind of like a Romeo and Juliet type of situation, except the Montagues and Capulets are the U.S. government" - Composer Damien Geter. "Loving v. Virginia," named after the landmark Supreme Court case, is a production commissioned the Virginia Opera and Richmond Symphony with librettist Jessica Murphey Moo. The 1967 Supreme Court ruling banned anti-miscegenation laws (intermarriage between white people and non-white group) and is widely considered the beginning of the full dismantling of Jim Crow race laws in the United States. The plaintiffs married in DC, where interracial marriage was legal. Shortly after returning to Caroline County, Virginia, to live as husband and wife, the county Sheriff arrested Mildred and Richard in their home. The ruling set a legal precedent that was later used, in 2015, when the Supreme Court ruled in favor of same-sex marriage in the case Obergefell v. Hodges. Teaching the opera based on this historical event equips students consider how law shapes lived experience and that artists transform historical events into compelling and intentional stories about home, suffering, and belonging. This resource is an interview with the composer.
Related links
Explore the ESResources.org June Educator Bulletin to discover instructional materials for teaching this performance.
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Loving v. Virginia: An Opera (Activities – (Issue No. 2, June 2026)
https://esresources.on-forge.com/storage/imported/35d17611cf64d9005046487d49caba39.pdf
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