2024-25 Competition Cycle
Bessie and Ma, produced by Georgia Southern University in January 2025
Congratulations to Douglas Buchanan, composer, and Caitlin Vincent, librettist, whose work, Bessie and Ma, was selected as the winner of the Dominick Argento Chamber Opera Competition from the finalists at the 2024 National Conference in Tempe, AZ.
This work was produced in its entirety at the January 2025 National Conference in Savannah, GA.
The competition committee congratulates all three finalist works, excerpts of which were performed at the National Conference in January 2024 in Tempe, AZ:
- Bessie and Ma, by Douglas Buchanan, composer, and Caitlin Vincent, librettist
- A Braided Light, by Paul Richards, composer, and Wendy Steiner, librettist
- An Incident in Sutton Square, by Martin J Hennessy, composer and Stephen Kitsakos, librettist
About Bessie and Ma (website)
Synopsis and Historical Context
Inspired by historical events, Bessie and Ma tells the story of two trailblazing figures from the early 20th century—Elizabeth “Bessie” Coleman, the first female African- American aviatrix, and Miriam “Ma” Ferguson, the first female governor of Texas. Bessie and Ma interweaves significant moments from each woman’s life and career, including Bessie’s decision to apply to flight school in France and Ma’s decision to run for governor at the urging of her husband. In the opera’s climactic scene, Ma and Bessie meet face-to-face for the first and final time, when Ma invites Bessie to the Governor’s Mansion, just a few months before the aviatrix’s death. Tracing each woman’s triumphs, failures, and flaws, Bessie and Ma provides a glimpse into the hearts and minds of two groundbreaking American women, largely forgotten by history.
Born in Atlanta, Texas in 1893, Bessie Coleman faced significant financial and racial obstacles in her effort to become a pilot. Rejected from every American flying school due to either her sex or skin color, Bessie was ultimately admitted to France’s most famous flying school and successfully earned her pilot’s license in 1921. Nicknamed “Queen Bess” and “Daredevil Aviatrix,” Bessie returned to the United States in 1922 and embarked on a barnstorming tour of the country, hoping to inspire other women in her community and eventually open a flying school for African-Americans. In 1926, Bessie’s life was tragically cut short when she fell out of her plane at 2,000 feet during a test maneuver.
Born in 1875, Miriam “Ma” Ferguson allegedly never considered a career in politics until her husband, then Texas Governor James “Pa” Ferguson, was impeached, convicted, and removed from office in 1917. At her husband’s urging, Ma decided to seek the Democratic nomination in 1924 and was successfully voted the first female governor of Texas in 1925. With a campaign slogan of “Two governors for the price of one,” Ma and Pa strove to end the Ku Klux Klan’s influence in Texas politics, while supporting the cause of rural tenant farmers in the state.
Accused of the same cronyism and corruption that plagued Pa’s political career—in particular, granting prison pardons in exchange for bribes—Ma’s time as governor was somewhat overshadowed by her husband’s negative legacy. However, after her first term ended in 1927, Ma successfully ran and served a second term as governor from 1933 to 1935. To this date, Ma Ferguson is one of only two women to serve as governor of the state.
Just a few months before her fatal flight in Florida in 1926, Bessie embarked on a tour of Texas, during which she was invited to the Governor’s Mansion by Miriam Ferguson. Other than a passing reference in The Chicago Defender, a prominent African-American newspaper, there is no public record of their visit.
Setting
Various locations in Texas, New York, and Chicago between 1919 and 1926.
Characters
- Bessie Coleman, soprano
- Miriam “Ma” Furguson, mezzo soprano
- Johnny Coleman, tenor
- Jim “Pa” Ferguson, baritone
- Miss Johnson, soprano or mezzo soprano (breakout role)
- Mechanic, tenor or baritone (breakout role)