Vanderbilt Blair School of Music and Vanderbilt Opera Lab presents Staggerwing, with music by Lisa DeSpain, libretto by Rachel J. Peters.

Staggerwing celebrates the historic flight of Louise Thaden and Blanche Noyes as they compete in, and win, the 1936 Bendix Trophy Air Race, the first year that female-piloted teams were allowed to compete. Their plane: a Beechcraft Staggerwing Model C-17.

The opera also highlights the contributions of Olive Ann Beech, co-founder and president of Beech Aircraft (later known as “The First Lady of Aviation”) and her husband Walter Beech, fierce advocates for women’s acceptance and equality in the skies.