October 13–21

Adolphus Hailstork, composer
David Gonzalez, librettist
Sung in English with projected supertitles

The Cast
John P. Parker.....................................Terry Cook
Miranda Parker....................................Andrea Jones-Sojola
Rev. John Rankin...............................Daniel Weeks
Sroufe...................................................Jeremy Cady
Mr. McDowell.......................................John Christopher Adams
Mrs. McDowell....................................Kearstin Piper Brown

MEET THE CAST

Singing the role of John P. Parker is renowned bass Terry Cook who made his Cincinnati Opera debut in the role of Colline in La Bohème (1994). Mr. Cook is well-known for his numerous performances of Porgy in Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess, where he has been recognized for creating “an endearing Porgy who instantly captured hearts with his beautiful smile and glorious voice” (The Plain Dealer). He has appeared in New York Harlem Productions’s Porgy and Bess at Houston Grand Opera, Opera Bastille, and La Scala. Mr. Cook also has sung in more than twenty productions with the Metropolitan Opera, most recently in La Fanciulla del West, II Trovatore, A Masked Ball (telecast on PBS’s “Live from the Met”), and Les Troyens.

Soprano Andrea Jones-Sojola sings the role of Miranda Parker, John’s wife. Ms. Jones-Sojola is currently touring with the critically acclaimed trio 3 Mo Divas. A recent Cincinnati Conservatory of Music (CCM) Graduate, she was a member of the Artist-in-Resident program with Dayton Opera where she sang the roles of Frasquita in Carmen and Papagena in The Magic Flute. Ms. Jones-Sojola sang the role of Lonnie, Muhammad Ali's wife, in Muhammad Ali: Outside the Ring with Kentucky Opera. She even had the honor of singing it for the “Champ” himself.

Returning to sing the role of Reverend John Rankin is tenor Daniel Weeks. Mr. Weeks, who has performed with Cincinnati Opera on numerous occasions, was commended for his “strong performance” (Cincinnati Enquirer) as Don Basilio in the Marriage of Figaro (2002). A member of the applied voice faculty of the University of Louisville since 1998, Mr. Weeks has become an integral part of the vocal program at the university while maintaining an active recital, concert, and operatic career.

Tenor Jeremy Cady, a doctoral student at the University of Kentucky, portrays Sroufe, a slave owner. Mr. Cady has been a member of Cincinnati Opera’s The Corbett Foundation Young Artist Program for the past two seasons. He recently sang the role of Pang in Puccini's Turandot with the Kentucky Opera.

Soprano Kearstin Piper Brown, who was a member of the 2007 Cincinnati Opera Resident Ensemble, sings the role of Mrs. McDowell, an enslaved woman. Tenor John Christopher Adams, a CCM student who sang in the Cincinnati Opera Chorus this past season, sings the role her husband, Mr. McDowell.