This opera in one act provides a full and rich narrative of the Underground Railroad and the personal experiences documented by William Still, the father of the Underground Railroad, of individuals who travelled north to freedom. This piece recounts the true narratives of Henry “Box” Brown who mailed himself from Virginia to Pennsylvania, Clarissa Davis who disguised herself as a white man, among many others. One of the most poignant moments in the piece involves Peter Still being interviewed by William Still, only to discover that they were brothers and had not seen each other in 45 years.
![Preview image for the video "UK Opera Theatre presents "Sanctuary Road," March 7-9, 2025".](/sites/default/files/public/styles/max_650x650/public/oembed_thumbnails/LnKcpnbap0wPlQIW5p35JoiXRSWH1OLklVJ4K0J-JDg.webp?itok=d7xgviUC "Preview image for the video \"UK Opera Theatre presents "Sanctuary Road," March 7-9, 2025\".")
Local History
Peter Still, William Still’s brother, was sold into slavery in downtown Lexington, Kentucky, at Cheapside and was purchased by John Fisher, a brickmaker who created and sold the bricks that built parts of our city. Peter's brother, Levin, Jr., was also sold at Cheapside to an Alabama plantation owner. Still’s descendants Valerie Still and Art Still became prominent student athletes at the University of Kentucky.
Approximate run time: 1 hour, no intermission
Source material for the libretto comes directly from William Still’s text in The Underground Railroad Records with stories about Sarah Grace, Ellen Craft, Clarissa Davis, Wesley Harris, Talbot Johnson, Barnaby Grigby, Isaac Jackson, Samuel Green, Cordelia Loney, Emeline Chapman, Charlotte Giles, and more.
This production of SANCTUARY ROAD is the first installment in a multi-year series entitled, “Telling America’s Stories”, through which UK Opera Theatre will produce one work each academic year focused on sharing the American experience through our mainstage productions.
This long-term project is a commitment by UK Opera Theatre to use our platform of the performing arts to share narratives which have been missed or overlooked in traditional operatic repertoire. We will continue this series with a spring 2026 production of A NATION OF OTHERS, an Ellis Island story set in 1921, and are considering several options for our 2026-2027 installment.
From left: Megh Jennings-Posner, Larry Kezele, Patty Jo Hedges-Ward, Bill Harris, Everett McCorvey, Valerie Still, Shea Brown
As we celebrate the 250th Anniversary of Lexington, Kentucky, I’m thrilled that part of this yearlong celebration is the recognition and honoring of the Still family in Lexington with UK Opera Theatre presenting Sanctuary Road. Most Kentuckians know my brother Art and I as the University of Kentucky’s most dominant brother and sister athletic superstars. But the Still family legacy is much more than that! It is a legacy of faith, freedom, fellowship and family. It is a legacy of self-respect, self-awareness, self-sovereignty and self-empowerment.It is a legacy of fearless, altruistic superstars! My great-great granduncles Levin Jr and Peter as boys, were sold to a man in Lexington shortly after it was established. Their youngest brother William would eventually become the most important and powerful abolitionist in the operations of the Underground Railroad. Over 170 years later I accepted an athletic scholarship to the University of Kentucky. Sanctuary Roads tells our story. I am inviting all my Kentucky family, and friends and family across the USA, to join me on this most auspicious weekend and share an historic happening together with my brother and I. This story is one that unites, inspires, uplifts, empowers and reminds us that we all are superstars…pure, positive, peaceful, powerful, unlimited energy.-Valerie Still
American baritone Michael Preacely is a rising star on the operatic stage and is also known for a versatile singing ability and style that allow him to cross between genres from classical repertoire to pop, contemporary, and Broadway.
Dr. McCorvey is an acclaimed voice teacher, the founder and director of the American Spiritual Ensemble, Artistic Director of the National Chorale, and an accomplished orchestral and operatic conductor.
Paul Moravec, winner of the 2004 Pulitzer Prize in Music, has composed over 200 orchestral, opera, chamber, choral, and lyric compositions. His music has been hailed as “tuneful, ebullient and wonderfully energetic” (San Francisco Chronicle).
Mark Campell is a Pulitzer Prize and Grammy Award-winning librettist/lyricist. He has created 41 opera librettos, lyrics for 7 musicals, and the text for 9 song cycles and 5 oratorios. He received the 2024 Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Opera Association.
Dennis Whitehead Darling is an accomplished opera and musical theatre stage director. Dennis is a brilliant collaborator, working with colleagues to tell stories in an engaging and exciting way. When Paul decided to expand the oratorio into a full opera, he chose Mr. Whitehead Darling to lead the charge.
Megh Jennings-Posner has worked with opera and ballet companies across the United States, with San Diego Opera on the original co-production of Moby Dick. She also worked with the Cincinnati Opera and UC-CCM collaboration Opera Fusion New Works workshopping new operatic works.
- 2017: The oratorio version of Sanctuary Road was created by librettist Mark Campbell and Composer Paul Moravec.
- 2020: Oratorio Society of New York performs Sanctuary Road.
- 2022: First operatic performance of Sanctuary Road is performed in North Carolina.
- 2023: Second operatic performance of Sanctuary Road is presented in Lancaster, PA and Dr, McCorvey joins as conductor.
- 2024: Sanctuary Road is presented by Virginia Opera and performed in Norfolk, Richmond, and Fairfax, VA.
- 2025: Sanctuary Road is presented by the University of Kentucky Opera Theatre in Lexington, KY.
Sanctuary Road
