The Las Cruces Bulletin wrote an article about the upcoming opera, "Burden of Love."
The article states: “The show is about good and evil and the people in between,” New Mexico State University music professor Lon Chaffin said about the one-act opera “Burden of Love,” which he finished composing in October.
Chaffin held auditions and cast the show in September. Rehearsals will begin in November, and the world premiere will be presented at NMSU in March 2023.
Chaffin began writing the opera in April, as he explored why “people are so mean and hateful to people they don’t even know,” he said, and looked for “a more humane, compassionate, forgiving, tolerant” approach to life.
Chaffin also incorporated the results of an anonymous survey conducted last spring about the life experiences of NMSU students and faculty, he said.
Some of the responses were tragic, Chaffin said, as they included stories of child abuse, parental rejection, exploitation and the search for “somebody to love me.” But there were also stories from people who were “compassionate, forgiving, loving and helpful,” he said.
Read the full article here.
Mailing Address
Main Fax: 575-646-8199
Department of Music MSC 3F, NMSU
PO Box 30001
Las Cruces, NM 88003
