Mickelle Bisbee – Staff Writer
Swarms of Rocky Mountain locusts raided the skies of Wyoming until they suddenly disappeared during the turn of the 20th Century.
The last specimen caught was in 1902 and the species was never seen again.
Locust: The Opera, an “environmental murder mystery,” tells the story of a locust who has come back as a ghost to haunt a scientist until he can find what caused the locust’s disappearance in this one-hour chamber opera.
“[The opera is] sort of unfolding this, not only solving the mystery, but what it means for us today with conservation and extinction,” said Jeff Lockwood, University of Wyoming professor of natural sciences and humanities and libretto writer for the opera, which opens at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 5 at the Gryphon Theatre.
As a chamber opera, Lockwood said that this opera is a great way to introduce someone to opera who has never experienced it. The opera is shorter than a regular sized opera, and there is audience participation, in which they make the sound of the locust swarm.
“If you were introducing somebody who never had beer, you wouldn’t give them an IPA,” Lockwood said. “You might give them a lager, a good lager. I like to think of this opera as a good lager. It’s not an IPA. You can develop a taste, but that’s not the way to introduce people.”
Anne Guzzo, UW professor of music and composer of the opera, said that live opera is much different than seeing it on video. She said it is a once in a lifetime experience to feel the vibrations and power of all the voices.
“Not to toot my horn too bad, but I think this is a really good, effective, timely, emotional and meaningful opera,” Guzzo said.
She gave each unique voice a style of music that not only represented their voice, but also represented their character.
“I wanted to create something that sort of confused us,” said Guzzo.
Three voices tell this story: soprano Cristin Colvin portrays the locust, tenor Todd Teske portrays the scientist and baritone Thomas Erik Angerhofer, portrays the rancher.
The orthopterist, a scientist who studies grasshoppers, crickets, and locusts, is jumpy (because he studies insects that jump), the rancher is grounded and earthy, and the locust is beautiful, who wears a stunning costume made by Ashley Carlisle.
“[The locust is] a beautiful thing we’ve lost, at least environmentally speaking,” Guzzo said.
Even though the locust was thought to be of a hideous swarm, “a plague,” that would eat everything it touched, Guzzo said that they formed an important niche in our continent that no longer exists which is why she wanted her to be represented as beautiful.
The opera was based off Lockwood’s book “Locust: The Devastating Rise and Mysterious Disappearance of the Insect that Shaped the American Frontier.” Though the challenge of crunching down 110,000 words into the 1,300 words for the opera was difficult, Lockwood said that it still followed relatively close to his original story.
About four to five years ago, Lockwood and Guzzo met when Lockwood organized a retreat at the Ucross Art Residency near Sheridan, Wyoming. Four artists and four scientists got together to collaborate and create interdisciplinary projects.
Guzzo collaborated with a geologist to make a “Rock Opera” based on the Powder River Basin formations, which gave Lockwood the idea to make a story about the locusts.
Since their connection, Guzzo and Lockwood set forth onto the journey of sharing their opera with the world. Guzzo’s friend Thomas Blomster, the conductor for the Colorado Chamber Orchestra, will conduct and include UW and Colorado Chamber musicians. He selected the singers who are traveling with the opera.
Their first performance was in Jackson last year at the National Museum of Wildlife Art, and they next went to Agadir, Morocco to perform at the opening of the International Congress of Orthopterology.
