Gregory Spears

Fellow Travelers

Subtitle	opera in two acts
Text information	libretto by Greg Pierce based on the novel "Fellow Travelers" by Thomas Mallon
Year(s) composed	2016
Publisher	Schott Music
Duration	105'
Premiere	June 17, 2016; Cincinnati, OH, Aranoff Center for the Performing Arts, Jarson-Kaplan Theatre; Cincinnati Opera • Mark Gibson, conductor
Commission	Developed and Co-Commissioned by G. Sterling Zinsmeyer & Cincinnati Opera
Language	English
Roles	Timothy Laughlin · tenor - Hawkins Fuller · baritone - Mary Johnson · soprano - Tommy McIntyre · baritone - Miss Lightfoot · soprano - Lucy · soprano - Estonian Frank/Interrogator/Senator McCarthy · baritone - Senator Potter/General Arlie/Bartender · baritone - Potter’s Assistant/Bookseller/Technician/French Priest · bass
Composer note	Based on Thomas Mallon’s best-selling novel, *Fellow Travelers* takes place in 1950s Washington, D.C., and follows Timothy Laughlin, a recent college graduate and devout Catholic eager to join the crusade against Communism. A chance encounter with a handsome State Department official, Hawkins Fuller, leads to Tim’s first job in D.C. and – after Fuller’s advances – his first love affair. With senator McCarthy’s investigations into ‘sexual subversives’, Tim struggles to reconcile his political convictions, his love for God, and his love for Fuller – an entanglement that ends in a stunning act of betrayal.