UK Opera Presents: Sanctuary Road

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.

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 Still's descendants, Valerie Still and Art Still, became prominent student athletes at the University of Kentucky.

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.