About Rise for Freedom
Building on the success of Margaret Garner, Cincinnati Opera commissioned a family opera based on the life of John P. Parker, who was considered one of the leading local conductors on the Underground Railroad. The project marked the first-time collaboration between composer Adolphus Hailstork and librettist David Gonzalez. Kentucky Symphony Orchestra's James R. Cassidy conducted.
Cincinnati Opera presented six public performances of Rise for Freedom: The John P. Parker Story October 13-14 and 20-21, 2007 in the Aronoff Center's Jarson-Kaplan Theater. In addition, eight schooltime performances, Opera Raps and community programs were available.
Who was John P. Parker?
Born into slavery in 1827, John P. Parker was enslaved in Virginia and Alabama before he purchased his own freedom in 1845 at the young age of 18. He moved to Cincinnati, ultimately settling in the thriving abolitionist river community of Ripley, Ohio, where he worked as the owner of an iron foundry and inventor by day and a conductor on the Underground Railroad by night. For nearly fifteen years, Parker risked his life again and again to help hundreds of fugitive slaves escape to freedom.
Like so many narratives of those who were enslaved, John P. Parker's story was not widely known until his autobiography, His Promised Land, was discovered and published by W.W. Norton in 1996. The John P. Parker Historical Society, Inc. was founded in 1996 to recognize, commemorate, and preserve the extraordinary legacy of John P. Parker and his remarkable family. His home in Ripley was designated a National Historic Landmark by the National Park Service in 1997, and is now open to the public (www.johnparkerhouse.org). Parker's story also is featured in the "Brothers of the Borderland" exhibit at the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center (www.freedomcenter.org).
Opera Synopsis
Having bought his way out of slavery, John P. Parker is now a successful inventor of machinery and owner of an iron foundry in Ripley, Ohio. The opera begins with Parker embarking on the most difficult mission of his long career as a conductor on the Underground Railroad. A cruel Kentucky slave owner named Sroufe, who also is a customer of Parker, drunkenly dares him to come on his land and try to steal his "property" to "run away" one of his slaves. Not a man to back away from a good challenge, Mr. Parker faces and overcomes a series of harrowing obstacles as he, with the support of the Ripley townsfolk, succeeds in bringing the McDowell family across the river and on their way to safety. This central adventure in Rise for Freedom is drawn from John P. Parker's deeply moving autobiography His Promised Land.
Learn more about Rise for Freedom:
View the Opera News review of Rise for Freedom.
Meet the Rise for Freedom Creative Team.
View the study guide.
View the production photos.
View the audience response to Rise for Freedom.
View a virtual visit to Ripley, Ohio.
Listen to Rise for Freedom.
The Title Sponsor of Rise for Freedom: The John P. Parker Story was Duke Energy. Other generous sponsors included: The Andrew Jergens Foundation, The Daniel and Susan Pfau Foundation, Charles H. Dater Foundation, Greater Cincinnati Foundation, Gannett Foundation, Ohio Humanities Council, Ohio Arts Council and Opera Volunteers International. Media partner The Cincinnati Herald. Thanks to Fine Arts Fund and City of Cincinnati.
