Many opera fans are Queer, and many operas are love stories, but very few are Queer love stories. For the first time, though, Seattle Opera will mount a same-sex love story on the mainstage at McCaw Hall: Fellow Travelers, by composer Gregory Spears and librettist Greg Pierce. The new production will open on February 21 and run through March 1.

Based on Thomas Mallon’s novel, Fellow Travelers is set in Washington, DC, during the McCarthy era in the 1950s, the time of the “lavender scare,” when many Gay men and Lesbians were fired from government jobs. The opera focuses on a love affair between two men working for the federal government. Stage-directed by Kevin Newbury, the original director of the premiere production at the Cincinnati Opera in 2016, the Seattle production launches a nationwide tour calling attention to the experiences of those subjected to humiliating investigations and job loss because of their sexuality.

In a recent interview with Seattle Opera dramaturg Jonathan Dean, Spears said, “[Fellow Travelers] is very1950s. Everything happens under the surface. All the pain, anguish, and humanity is suppressed; you have to look for it. Gay history is like that. In this closeted world, the love can’t be expressed in words. The orchestra tells the truth, but the characters can’t hear it.”

In his podcast “Fellow Travelers 101” on the Seattle Opera website, Dean said, “I’m glad we’re honoring all the Queer people onstage, backstage, and in the audience.”