Stinney: An American Execution
Composer: Frances Pollock
Librettist: Frances Pollock, Tia Price
Company: Opera Grand Rapids
| Performance Dates | |
|---|---|
| Friday, February 25, 2022 | |
| Sunday, February 27, 2022 | Matinee |
Synopsis
Stinney is an opera set in Alcolu, South Carolina in 1944. The story is told from the perspective of two very young murder victims: Mary Emma Thames (age eight) and Betty June Binnicker (age eleven). The girls guide us through the repercussions of their horrific deaths and the ensuing trial of George Stinney, a fourteen-year-old African American boy and the youngest person executed in the United States in the 20th Century. By investigating the racial tensions in South Carolina and the community’s response to these murders, Stinney questions the integrity of the legal system and the mishandled evidence that condemned him to die.