Dear friends,

Welcome to the world premiere production of A Nation of Others. We have been working on this project for many years and are delighted to see it come to fruition. 

UK Opera Theatre has developed a wonderful relationship with composer Paul Moravec and librettist Mark Campbell. Without a doubt, Paul and Mark are one of the most sought-after composer and librettist teams in the country and the world. This piece premiered as an oratorio in November 2022 with the Oratorio Society of New York and we are so honored that Paul and Mark entrusted us with turning this wonderful oratorio into an opera. 

This is the second installment in our Telling Americas Stories series, and I am really looking forward to continuing this series as we champion some of the great American operas in this 250th year of our country. It is very rare for students to be able to do a world premiere with such recognized artists, and I am so excited about the response from the students, as well as the understanding of the weight of this world premiere, and the power of the message in confers. 

As you consider your philanthropic wishes for our community, please remember UK Opera Theatre. The work we are doing is not only cutting edge, but it is also work that will further enhance the catalogue of American operas available to companies throughout the world. We hope that you will continue to support the work of UK Opera Theatre, and these amazing young artists we get to serve. We hope that you will enjoy this magnificent work.

Dr. Everett McCorvey
Director of UK Opera Theatre

Presented by the University of Kentucky Opera Theatre

WORLD PREMIERE!

Paul Moravec
Composer

Mark Campbell
Librettist

Dr. Everett McCorvey
Producer

sarah ina meyers
Staging Director 

dr. everett mccorvey
Conductor

Megh Jennings-Posner
Production Stage Manager

Aaron Bowling
Production Manager

SUMMER LEE JACK
Costume Designer

ROBERT PICKERING
Scenic Designer

Tanya Harper
Lighting Designer

Esther Neel
Props Designer

ROBERT BOSWORTH
Chorus Master

DAVID MURAKAMI
Projections Designer

This opera runs 65 minutes with no intermission.

Please join us for a post-show discussion with the creative team.

UK Opera Theatre dedicates this production to the loving memory of our dear friend, Dennis Whitehead Darling.

Tomasso
Dylon Crain
Pharel Silaban, CoryOn Brooks, covers

Connor
Brandon Whitish
William Middleton, cover

Mr. Nowak
Christopher Burchett
Will Jones, Will Darragh, covers

Mrs. Nowak
Emily Wicker
Calia Burdette, cover

Mirjana
Fairynne Rogers
Andrea Trusty, cover

Teo
Asher Fitzgerald
Asher Liang, cover

Karin
Kaylee Piatt
Andrea Trusty, cover

Anna
Hailey Wells
Elpida Zavitsanou, cover

Hanna
Ella Clark
Lucy Schapman, Emory Hampton, covers

Masha
Jessica Leigh
Kelli Evans, Destiny Cardell, cover

Aram
Max Taylor
Austin Morgan, cover

Constanza
Dejah Watts
Mariah Graves, cover

Officials
CoryOn Brooks, Will Cordier, Jay McNamee, William Middleton III, Austin Morgan, Pharel Silaban

Jean
Darian Wright    
Kaeden Worley, cover

Mikel
Jackson Cleland

Ricardo
Will Jones
Will Darragh, cover

Marion
Bizhou Chang
Emily Hayes, cover

Francesca
Ashley Patak
Lydia Naberhaus, cover

Henrietta
Mariah Graves
Calia Burdette, cover

Rachel
Emily Hayes
Zetong Xu, cover

IMMIGRANT ENSEMBLE

Bizhou Chang, Kelli Evans, Jessica Leigh, Nichelle Noble, Ashley Patak, Fairynne Rogers, Lucy Schapman, Hailey Wells, Zetong Xu, Aubrey Young, Elpida Zanitsanou, Calia Burdette, Destiny Cardell, Jaime Chaudoin, Ella Clark, Mariah Graves, Emory Hampton, Emily Hayes, Lydia Naberhaus, Kaylee Piatt, Andrea Trusty, Dejah Watts, Emily Wicker, Jozi Woods, Brennan Bartley, Dylon Crain, Kaeden Worley, Darian Wright, Grayson Boehm, Chris Burchett, Will Darragh, Jackson Cleland, Will Jones, Che Lin, Brandon Whitish

YOUTH ENSEMBLE

Asher Liang, Cecilia Kaye, Juniper Steele, Mila Steele

Dr. Everett McCorvey, Conductor

Flute
Alex Nguyen, Scarlet Head

Oboe
Amelia Johnson, Jacob Taylor

Clarinet
JoJo Dennis, Hannah Arnold

Bassoon
Jack Baker, Marcus Harris

Horn
Nicholas O’Banion, Eli Ratliff

Trumpet
Emma Vakiener, Jacob Wilson 

Tenor Trombone
Matthew Gallegos 

Bass Trombone
Will Ashford

Timpani
Aaron Creech

Percussion
Brody Newbern, Grayson Mack

Violin I
Saelim Henderson, Selena Vega, Michell Lynch, Justyn Douthit 

Violin II
Naomi Folwick, Edgar Querales, Luise Wendroth, Dorottya Gal

Viola
Ethan Buell, Joey Elliott, Bailey Hall, Ben Wells 

Cello
Holden Bitner, Morgan Booher, Chris Kim, Matthew Lederer 

Bass
Elizabeth Gallaway, Vykai Forrester

Harp
Elaine Cook

Producer
Dr. Everett McCorvey

Conductor
Dr. Everett McCorvey

Composer
Paul Moravec

Librettist
Mark Campbell

Director
Sarah Ina Meyers

Production Manager
Aaron Bowling

Production Stage Manager 
Megh Jennings-Posner

Scenic Designer
Robert Pickering

Projections Designer
David Murakami

Props Designer
Esther Neel

Lighting Designer
Tanya Harper

Costume Designer
Summer Lee Jack

Vocal Coach
Robert Bosworth

Chorus Master
Robert Bosworth

Assistant Director
Meredith Crutcher

Assistant Conductors
Merih Ozden, Stephen Gomez

Assistant Stage Managers
Sophia Grimes, Ben Haase

Production Assistant
Michael Daniels

Assistant Costume Designer
Ivory Besse

UK Costume Director
Lisa Wilson

UK Stock Specialist
Andrea Richardson

UK Cutter/Draper
Natalie Maynard

Costume Shop Support
Sofia Ricketts, Margaret Veillon

Visual Effects Artist
Sam Clevenger

Projections Creator
Michael Daniels

Scenic Carpenters
Troy Kleffman, Johnny Hines, Scott Sherman, George Haggard, Eddie Vanoy

Scenic Artists
Robert Pickering, Riley Gruenthal

Scenic Fabric Construction
Patti VanMeter - PM Fashions

Scenic Assistants
Amanda Coorey, Ruby Wiggs, Boo McGinley

Rehearsal Pianists
Tina Wagoner, Paul Robinson

Supertitles Creator
Mark Campbell

Spanish Supertitles Creator
Cynthia López Olaya

Supertitles Operator
Katie Buchanan

Youth Monitors
Emily Wilder, Rumi Chang, Frank Espinosa

IATSE Local 346
Run Crew:

Head Electrician 
Chris Ruby

Head Flyman
Joe Harris

Head Carpenter
Josh Kilian

Head Props
Neil Towery

Head Audio
Paul Manning

Head Wardrobe
Julie Judge

Dresser
Susan Manning

Spot Operators
Sandi Tyrie, Lynda Matusek, Brandon Stephens

UK Department of Theatre and Dance

Bluegrass Youth Ballet

Special thanks to Save Ellis Island, Inc., a nonprofit partner of the National Park Service dedicated to the preservation and restoration of the Ellis Island Hospital Complex. With gratitude to Janis DeLuce Calella, President of Save Ellis Island, as well as Jim Dessicino, Museum Creative Director, and Irene Mone, Education Program Manager, for their support.

Find out if you had relatives who passed through Ellis Island by visiting the Statue of Liberty & Ellis Island Foundation site.

Want a deeper dive into this opera? Visit our Learning Resources page for more content.