The 1924 true-crime case of silver-spoon murderers — and lovers — Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb has inspired endless works, from films to plays to novels. But opera? That’s a new one. You’re subscribed! Please check your inbox for your confirmation.
Sorry, there was an error registering your email. By subscribing, you agree with WBEZ’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy HindSight , by composer Felix Jarrar and librettist Bea Goodwin, premieres Friday at Chicago Dramatists’ black box theater. The show is a first-time collaboration between two local groups, Chicago Fringe Opera and Kor Productions, that specialize in small-format, cozy productions, often in unconventional settings .
For these scrappy companies, teaming up helped ensure the opera — which intrigued leaders of both groups and had been workshopped for a few years — premiered in Chicago, not New York. Nathan Leopold, 19, far right, and Richard Loeb, 18, second from right, are seen during their arraignment in a Cook County courtroom with attorney Clarence Darrow, left, in July 1924. The two teenagers were convicted and sentenced to serve life plus 99 years for the murder-kidnapping of Bobby Franks in May 1924.
Loeb would later be murdered in prison by another inmate; Leopold was released in 1958. AP “It became apparent that now is the right time. And how dare they think of doing this in New York first anyway? This is a Chicago story,” teased Cathy O’Shaughnessy, the music director and interim dir.