Copious Notes

The University of Kentucky Theatre presents the final weekend of Andrew Kimbrough’s production of Henrik Ibsen’s “A Doll’s House,” which will offer a new spin on how you view Guignol Theatre productions. Literally, Tony Hardin’s set faces the back stage of the Guignol with three rows of seats along the back wall. The primary set consists of an living room where Nora Helmer (Alys Dickerson) watches her idyllic world fall apart in what is widely considered the first feminist play. The set, which includes a jagged wall to peek into the office of Nora’s husband Torvald’s (Chris Floyd) office and an exterior wall that flies in for some scenes and a trapdoor staircase through which characters enter and exit. Nelson Fields costumes complete the Victorian look in the production that also stars Brian Sprague as Nils Krogstad, Abby Sheridan as Kristine Linde and Jeremy Gillett as Dr. Rank.

Kayoko Dan takes a bow with the Central Kentucky Youth Orchestra Concert Orchestra Sunday night at the Lexington Opera House. Photos by Rich Copley.

Since I am a Central Kentucky Youth Orchestra parent, I stay away from writing about CKYO for the paper — sort of an obvious conflict of interest there.

Dan addresses the audience.

But it is certainly worth noting that the Kayoko Dan era officially got underway Sunday night with the Youth Orchestra’s season-opening concert at the Lexington Opera House. The group’s Symphony Orchestra and Concert Orchestra played a tidy program of just over 90 minutes that included music from Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s “Swan Lake” for the Concert players and the third movement Gustav Mahler’s “Symphony No. 1 in D Major ‘Titan’” for the Symphony. That was some challenging stuff, to say the least.

Also debuting was CKYO assistant conductor Daniel Chetel, who was actually a candidate for the top spot and ended up coming to Lexington to pursue a doctorate in musical arts and conducting at the University of Kentucky, where he also serves as assistant conductor of the UK Symphony. Chetel, who holds a bachelors from Harvard and a masters from the University of Maryland, was offered the Kentucky post by UK Symphony director John Nardolillo after he interviewed for the CKYO job. Sunday night, Chetel conducted the Concert Orchestra in an arrangement of Modest Mussorgsky’s “The Great Gate of Kiev” and the Symphony in the second movement of Ludwig van Beethoven’s “Symphony No. 7 in A Major.”

Assistant conductor Dan Chetel greets Concert Orchestra concertmaster Laura Saikawa after conducting Mussorgsky

The Symphony’s program was a bit of an introduction to Dan as she said from the stage it was her favorite movements from symphonies. Bookending the Beethoven and the Mahler on that program called “Symphonic Progression” were the first movement of Franz Joseph Haydn’s “Symphony No. 104 in D Major ‘London’” and the fourth movement of Tchaikovsky’s “Symphony No. 4 in f minor.”

When Dan auditioned for the Lexington Philharmonic’s music director post, Tchaikovsky was also a centerpiece of her LPO concert with music from “Swan Lake.” So, judging by her programming — Tchaikovsky’s “Russian Choral and Overture” opened the concert — and comments from the stage Sunday, it looks like CKYO kids will be getting used to Peter I.

Chetel’s presence also drove home the fact the Philharmonic and Youth Orchestra’s recent music director searches yielded two new conductors each: new Philharmonic music director Scott Terrell and Dan, who first came here as an LPO candidate, and Dan and Chetel at the CKYO. So Lexington’s conductor pool is enhanced with a trio of new talent, which is certainly worth noting.

Alex Parker as Sweeney Todd and Brittny Congleton as Mrs. Lovett sing "A Little Priest," from "Sweeney Todd" at UKMOO rehearsal Wednesday night. Photos by Rich Copley.

Brittny Congleton loves Stephen Sondheim’s music but has always been told that college students are too young to sing it.

“They’ll say, ‘Until you’ve had two divorces and suffered through alcoholism, how can you ­possibly understand Sondheim?” says ­Congleton, 22, a Transylvania University graduate.

Lexington attorney Pamela Perlman is Joanne singing "The Ladies Who Lunch" from "Company."

But there she was in the ­rehearsal room at UK’s Schmidt ­Vocal Arts Center, devouring “A Little Priest,” the number from Sweeney Todd in which Congleton as murderous Mrs. Lovett and Alex Parker as the “Demon Barber from Fleet Street” joke about all the people they have cooked into their pies.

“‘Sweeney’ is wonderful because you are exposed to Sondheim’s manic genius,” Congleton says. “He wrote this terrifying music about a demon barber, but it’s still so ­honest - it’s really scary, but based on incredible truth.”

Congleton and Parker’s ­performance will be part of “An ­Evening With Stephen Sondheim,” on Thursday at UK’s Memorial Hall.

It is the second production of the UK Musical and Operetta ­Organization, or UKMOO, which debuted with a Valentine’s-themed show at Natasha’s Bistro & Bar on a snowy night in February 2008.

The group’s formation ­exemplified one of the ­beauties of college: students using their skills to make opportunities for themselves.

The two ­opportunities that ­UKMOO forged were presenting musical theater and operetta, something that neither UK Theatre nor UK Opera Theatre do on a regular basis, and giving ­undergraduates more opportunities to perform.

“The main focus of the group is undergraduates and people from the ­community,” says Patrick Joel Martin, 22, a senior from ­Louisville. “Most of the leads in the ­opera productions are ­graduate students.”

The original plan for UKMOO’s second act was a full production of “Company,” Sondheim’s Tony Award-­winning drama revolving around a man on his 35th birthday and his group of married friends and girlfriends.

Martin, who’s directing Thursday’s show, had studied “Company” through the ­summer and had some ideal casting lined up, ­including UK student Adam VonAlmen as commitment-phobic Bobby and ­Lexington attorney Pamela ­Perlman as acerbic, oft-married Joanne.

Clayton Burchell sings "Nothing's Gonna Harm You" from "Sweeney Todd" with pianist David Erem.

But it became clear, Martin says, that because of classes and other performance demands, some key players wouldn’t have enough time to devote to a full-fledged “Company.” So, on the advice of faculty advisers Everett ­McCorvey and Margo Buchanan, they changed the production to a Sondheim ­revue. The audience will get a taste “Company”: ­VonAlmen and ­Perlman will perform their ­characters’ big numbers - ­”Being Alive” and “The ­Ladies Who Lunch,” respectively - as part of the show.

“Sondheim isn’t performed much around here,” Martin says. “The thing I like about this is it gives people a look at the breadth of his work.

“Some composers, like Mozart, you hear something and immediately recognize that’s Mozart. But there are things people have heard in this show and said, ‘I didn’t know Sondheim wrote that.’”

Sondheim has his fans in the cast, but the show has been an introduction to the Broadway legend for a few cast members, including Parker, who plays Sweeney.

“He has interesting ­melodies that start in one place and then don’t go where you expect them to go,” he says. “It’s been a real growing experience.”

In addition to “Company” and “Sweeney,” Thursday’s show will include numbers from “Into the Woods,” “Follies,” “A Little Night Music,” “Sunday in the Park With George” and “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum.”

Next, Martin says, ­UKMOO will dip into the ­operetta pool with a Gilbert and Sullivan revue during the spring semester.

Jondra Harmon, a University of Kentucky mezzo-soprano, was one of the first competitors of the morning.

12:15 p.m. Sorry to be a bit late in starting the live blog from the Metropolitan Opera National Council Kentucky District Auditions. The program has been moving fairly quickly with a bunch of UK singers up front, and since they are not quite as cool with people texting from opera seats as basketball seats, this is the first chance to check in.

As of Friday, we understood we had 28 singers in the field, but auditions chair Dr. Clifton Smith announced everybody’s favorite bug, the flu, took two competitors out, so then there are 26. (But in the end, there were 27, with a previously unannounced singer at the end.)

Mezzo-soprano Paulette Maria Penzvalto delivered the first award-winning performance of the day.

Still, a very full day that started a little after 10 a.m. with the always stunning group sing of the national anthem — all those opera students and teachers, think about it.

Through 12 competitors, this year is shaping up to be a lot like last, as we have yet to hear a bad voice, though some did stand out.

UK’s Nicholas Provenzale and Reginald Smith Jr. teamed up on two of the most fun arias in the baritone repetoire, “Largo al factotum” from “Barber of Seville” and “Madamina,” the catalog aria from “Don Giovanni,” respectively.

Nicholas Provenzale channeled Figaro in one of his arias.

The judges, who get to choose each singer’s second aria, seem to be going for contrast, throwing the singers something that will bring out another side of them, like requesting Smith’s free-spirited “Madamina” after as serious take on “Sorge infausta una procella” from Handel’s “Orlando.” Amanda Balltrip was given a little control exercise in “The Magic Flute’s” “Ach, ich fuhls” after a rapturous “Ah! non credea mirarti” from “La Sonnambula.”

One of the fun moments of the morning was faintly hearing Smith warming up backstage when Balltrip finished “non credea.” Another was when UK Opera Theatre costumer Susan Wigglesworth had to grab a balloon left over from a previous event that floated down to the stage as UK’s Stephanie Granade prepared to sing.

The crowd was a bit smaller than normal, which was expected given this is the auditions’ first ever start before lunchtime. A lot of cars are winding through the Funkhauser lot finding no empty spaces, so there may be a rise in the afternoon audience. The afternoon lineup includes Julie LaDouceur, Karmesha Peake, Megan McCauley, Sarah Klopfenstein, and old UK friends Anne Fuchs and Afton Battle.

Reginald Smith Jr. sings the catalog aria from "Don Giovanni."

1:30 - Just saw a trio of distinctive, impressive voices in Cincinnati’s Daniel Anderson, UK’s Julie LaDouceur and Chicago’s Jonathan R. Green (a very old school baritone). Call them all contenders, and this promises to be not only the biggest, but most competitive Kentucky district auditions.

Megan McCauley auditions accompanied by Cliff Jackson, who played for all 27 auditoners Saturday.

2: Megan McCauley looked and sounded as good as ever on “Vissi d’arte” and “Csardas.” great interpretation.

3 p.m. We have now seen 23 singers.

3:30: with previously unannounced competitor Kara Joy Lambert, we have heard 27 singers. The judges ended the singing competition with a crowd pleaser, “A Simple Sailor Lowly Born,” by Gilbert and Sullivan.

It seems there are big battles between sopranos and baritones, with numerous excellent competitors in each voice. the judges are deliberating, and you have to wonder if they might call a few from the morning back for a refresher.

4: Tedrin Blair Lindsay: “I think we not only had a record number of competitors, but a record number of excellent competitors.”

Eric Brown was the sole winner from UK, Saturday.

and the winners are:
Paulette Maria Penzvalto, mezzo-soprano, Oberlin Conservatory
Eric Brown, baritone, University of Kentucky
R. Kenneth Stavert, baritone, University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music
Jeremy Parker, soprano, University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music

Encouragement award: Holly Flack, University of Kentucky

Holly Flack is getting her UK career started with a bang, winning the Encouragement Award Saturday.

Post script:

There was general agreement in the hall with Tedrin’s assessment that we saw a record number of excellent competitors.

In Saturday’s field of 27, there was not one person who didn’t belong there and there were no obvious winners as evidenced by several people who usually nail the Top 3 (ahem, Tedrin) completely missing this year.

“A different set of judges on a different day might have picked a completely different set of winners,” auditions chair Dr. Clifton Smith said after the competition.

Smith said according to Met National Council rules he does have the option of capping the number of entries, but thus far he has not done that, leaning toward giving everyone that wants to participate a chance. Some districts, such as New York, have hundreds of competitors and the auditions stretch over several days.

The audience was noticeably down for this year’s auditions, which have in the past attracted as many as 500. No one had a crowd count yesterday. Smith acknowledged that saying the earlier start time may have scared people off. The noonish to 1 p.m. lunch break was designed to allow people to come in at the traditional start time if they didn’t want to make a day of it. But Smith said he didn’t think that was well known. Also, people who did come late missed many of UK’s best known voices, including winner Eric Brown.

Click here for our story at LexGo.

Amanda Balltrip, shown as Ann Rutledge in October's "River of Time," has never left the Kentucky District Round of the Met Auditions empty handed. She'll compete again Saturday. Photo by Rich Copley.

Usually singers in the Kentucky District round of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions have a 1-in-5, maybe 1-in-4 chance of advancing to the next round. This year, it’s more like 1-in-9.

Maybe it’s some sort of anniversary karma because this will be the 10th year the Kentucky District auditions have been contested in Memorial Hall, but regardless of the cosmic reasons, the fact is 28 singers are going to give it a shot Saturday.

Reginald Smith Jr., 21, will compete in the Met Auditions for the first time, Saturday. Nick Provenzale, foreground, is also in the field of 28. Photo by Rich Copley.

We don’t know a lot of these singers, as they hail from Indiana, Cincinnati and even as far off as New York and Chicago. But in the midst of them is a veritible all-star team of University of Kentucky singers we know very well, including virtually all the leads in October’s world premier production of Joseph Baber’s “River of Time.”

And over 10 years, UK has developed a strong record of sending people who come into town looking for an easy win home empty handed. Certainly any of the voices judges will hear could break through to the regional round in Indianapolis, but here are a couple of locals and one well-known visitor worth watching:

Amanda Balltrip — She has never left a Met Auditions empty handed. Her first two years she won the encouragement award and last year she broke through to the regionals. Clearly a variety of judges have liked what this 24-year-old soprano does, so it wouldn’t be at all surprising to see her finish in the money again.

Former UK student Afton Battle, the last UK student to advance to the national rounds of the Met Auditions, will be competing Saturday. Photo by Tim Collins.

Reginald Smith Jr. — Since 2000, when 21-year old Asbury College tenor Norman Reinhardt won the first Met Auditions at Memorial Hall, Lexington fans have understood the Met likes to get singers young. Since he appeared as the baritone soloist in George Zack’s final “Messiah” in 2007, 21-year-old Smith has been knocking local music fans out with his massive voice. Given his age, if he has a similar effect on the judges, it’s easy to imagine him advancing to Indy.

Afton Battle — Speaking of massive voices, Battle was the last UK singer to advance from the Kentucky Districts to New York, where she competed in the national semifinals. A former student of late UK voice professor Gail Robinson, Battle has moved on to Westminster Choir College in Princeton, N.J. But she’s returned to Kentucky to take another shot at the Met, and Lexington could easily be the first of several steps for her, again.

Of course, there are 25 other singers in the field, and one thing that was striking last year was the vastly improved quality of the Kentucky District field over the years. So, regardless of who wins, it should be a great day for the audience.

Backstage at the 2006 auditions, Colleen Lauve pulled aside the curtin for contestant Brian Tierney. David Perry | Herald-Leader.

This year’s Kentucky District round of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions will be an event of Wagnerian proportions, at least in length.

With 25 hopefuls, Saturday’s presentation of the Kentucky District Auditions at the University of Kentucky’s Memorial Hall will roll its start time back from 1 p.m. to 10 a.m.

The morning session will go to 12:30 p.m. After a half-hour break, the auditions will resume at 1 p.m. and go until their usual late-afternoon conclusion — just about the amount of time you might need to squeeze in a production of Die Walküre.

The district auditions are open to anyone who wants to give it a shot, and often feature 14-16 hopefuls. In the past, the Kentucky District has had as many as 20 auditioners.

Auditions chair Dr. Clifton Smith took the preponderance of Kentucky District applicants as a sign that word has gotten out that the Bluegrass State edition is well-run, attracts a strong panel of judges, and gives out attractive prizes. He noted that Saturday’s field will include singers from New York and Chicago, as well as hopefuls from Kentucky, Southern Ohio and Indiana. The three winners Saturday will get $1,500 each and they will advance to the Tri-State Regional Round Jan. 16 at Butler University in Indianapolis. Next stop after that is the National Semi-Final round at the Metropolitan Opera in New York.

Saturday’s judges will include Met luminaries including bass Richard Best, soprano Carol Vaness and tenor Douglas Ahlstedt.

Since moving to UK’s Memorial Hall in 2000, the auditions have proved popular among music fans who regularly pack Memorial Hall. Admission is free.

Mark O'Connor rehearses with University of Kentucky graduate student Jessica Miskelly and the UK Symphpny Orchestra on Oct. 28, 2009. Photos by Rich Copley | LexGo.com.

It’s a typical rehearsal two days before a concert.

The University of Kentucky Symphony Orchestra is on the stage in the Singletary Center for the Arts Concert Hall with conductor John Nardolillo stopping occasionally to tweak parts, but mostly letting the music flow.

Centerstage two violinists trade increasingly virtuosic, knee bending phrases, somewhat reminiscent of a  little Peach State fiddle duel Charlie Daniels once sang about.

This is where things become less typical.

O'Connor and cellist Geoffrey Hershberger rehearse O'Connor's "Double Concerto for Violin and Cello."

One of the violinists is UK graduate student Jessica Miskelly. The other is Mark O’Connor, a classical music star who has distinguished himself by successfully bridging traditional classical music and American folk. He’s currently in the midst of a short residency at UK which will culminate in a Friday night concert featuring O’Connor, several of his compositions, the UK Choirs and several students sharing his spotlight.

“I’ve been doing more residencies the last couple of years at institutions,” O’Connor said in his dressing room, a few minutes before Wednesday’s rehearsal began. “Every time I show up at performances around the country, there’s all kinds of questions about, ‘Where’s this music going?’ and what your background is. There’s always some kind of educational component to it, so I just decided to expand that.”

In addition to UK, O’Connor works with students at the School for Creative and Performing Arts and the UK String Project, a primary school program, this week.

O’Connor has done his mini-residencies at prestigious schools such as the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia and the University of California, Los Angeles.

But he wanted to come to Kentucky.

In part, it was because of a growing relationship between O’Connor and the orchestra, which included another visit several years ago and a performance in February with the UK Symphony at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts as part of the Our Lincoln production.

“John Nardolillo has put a great emphasis on performance and getting the material ready,” O’Connor said, referring the UK Symphony’s director. “It’s just fantastic to see and hear . . . It’s going to be a darned good show for the audience.”

This visit also brings O’Connor close to Appalachia, a region he is strongly identified with thanks to his own music and several celebrated albums of Appalachian music with cellist Yo-Yo Ma and bassist Edgar Meyer.

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Lexington Philharmonic music director Scott Terrell conducts a combined rehearsal of the Central Kentucky Youth Orchestras' symphony orchestra and the Philharmonic Oct. 19. CKYO director Kayoko Dan stands at the back of the orchestra, in a black blouse. Photos by Matt Goins.

When I moved to Lexington in 1998, one thing that immediately struck me about the ­local arts scene was the prominence of children and organizations geared toward children.

The Lexington Children’s Theatre’s shows rated the same sort of attention as productions at Actors Guild of Lexington and other area stages.

The Central Kentucky Youth Orchestras’ events and personnel moves were prominent news. There were two institutions - the Explorium (then, the Lexington Children’s Museum) and the Living Arts and Science Center - geared toward children’s arts, particularly visual arts.

The School for Creative and Performing Arts had a prominent place in town, but there were stage, art and music programs at other schools also producing talented graduates who went on to arts careers.

Children’s Health magazine recently ranked Lexington No. 6 on its list of the 100 best places to raise a family. The criteria included crime and safety, education, economics, housing, cultural attractions and health.

I’d be willing to bet that if someone wanted to rank best places to be an artsy kid, Lexington would rate high on that list, too. By virtue of what is offered, we tell our children that the arts are something to do and be respected for doing.

Students Madelyn Nelson, left, Sara Arthur-Paratley, and Mary Rollins-Mathews rehearsed with the Lexington Ballet on Monday in preparation for Youth Arts Day.

The Lexington Philharmonic, the Horse Capitol of the World’s flagship arts organization, will celebrate young artists with its Youth Arts Day family concert at 3 p.m. Sunday at the Singletary Center for the Arts. It will include young singers from SCAPA, Fayette County Public Schools and the School of the Lexington Ballet.

The prominence of youth-oriented groups here is quite a bit more than other communities that I have lived in or observed. Over the nearly 12 years since I arrived, it has become clear that a big reason for that is quality.

Take the Children’s Theatre: In a town that has struggled with the concept of professional theater for adults, the Lexington Children’s Theatre has established itself with its own building on Short Street and a professional staff, including actors. What’s more, Larry and Vivian Snipes have developed a national reputation for the theater by being a venue that presents and creates new work. And the primary beneficiaries are kids.

And it really wasn’t terribly surprising that when the Central Kentucky Youth Orchestras went looking for a new music director at the same time that the Lexington Philharmonic was trying to fill a similar job, it ended up attracting and hiring Kayoko Dan, also a candidate for the Philharmonic post.

CKYO has graduated numerous professional musicians, including Chicago Symphony Orchestra violinist Nathan Cole and hard-to-categorize cello soloist Ben Sollee.

Outside of groups directly geared toward kids, Lexington arts groups have been generous to kids.
Look at Paragon Music Theatre, which routinely loads the stage with kids, including Hello Dolly! this weekend, and even makes a place for them in its cabaret shows.

During years without a professional company, the Lexington Ballet featured its students in productions, and it and Kentucky Ballet Theatre, which has always had a pro troupe, always find ways to present students. Former Ballet Theatre dancer Adalhi Aranda Corn saw such value in Central Kentucky’s young artists she left and formed Bluegrass Youth Ballet and eventually built CulturArte, an arts facility that acommodates a variety of disciplines.

Possibly one of the biggest statements about valuing student artists was when the Lexington Singers’ ­Children’s Chorus was invited to perform in the Our Lincoln performance at the Kennedy Center in Washington in February.

And now LexArts has formed a Youth Arts Council to help focus young artists in the area.

Clarinetists Andrew Burton, 14, left, of the Central Kentucky Youth Orchestras and Mike Acord of the Philharmonic rehearsed together Monday.

Full disclosure: My children have participated in some of these groups, and one is in the Central Kentucky Youth Orchestras, although not the ensemble performing Sunday with the Lexington Philharmonic.

In addition, I’ve gotten to know many other kids who participate in groups. Maybe the most important thing these groups engender is enthusiasm for the arts they are participating in. I hear spirited discussions about play rehearsal and genuine interest in Bach sonatas.

Like anything, Lexington’s youth arts scene isn’t perfect. I remain baffled, for instance, why SCAPA does not have a theater of its own. Then again, SCAPA regularly solves that problem by putting its kids on stages usually graced by adults and pros.

It occurred to me as I left a CKYO rehearsal last week with my daughter that by virtue of her participation in the orchestra, she’s on the University of Kentucky campus every week. Most of us didn’t get used to being on a college campus until we had enrolled.

That’s just one of many ways that through our youth arts, regardless of whether the students pursue arts careers, by supporting such substantial programs, we’re preparing our kids for the rest of their lives.

Musicians in the University of Kentucky Symphony Orchestra, Lexington Singers and UK Chorale settle onto the stage of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts for the Our Lincoln performance Feb. 2, 2009. Photo by Jonathan Palmer.

The presentation of Our Lincoln at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., in February was undeniably a big deal for Kentucky arts and humanities.

Artists who live and work here were presented on one of the nation’s most ­prestigious stages along with hometown kids who have made good and a few international stars, such as violinist Mark O’Connor. A production conceived and produced in Central Kentucky went to an international arts showplace and acquitted itself admirably.

I sat with a Washington cameraman who went on at length about how great the University of Kentucky Symphony Orchestra is. It was one of numerous anecdotes about seasoned Washington arts observers who were impressed with Our Lincoln.

Abraham Lincoln played by Jim Sayre of Lawrenceburg, left, and Henry Clay played by George MGee of Georgetown put the finishing touches on their costumes outside the entrance to the Kennedy Center.

But it is understandable that this might be lost on people who weren’t among the 1,463 people who saw the ­performance, given while the state was in the throes of an ice storm. ­Overseeing recovery ­efforts forced Gov. Steve Beshear to cancel his plans to attend.

But now Beshear and anyone else who would like to see the show can catch it in Michael Breeding’s PBS-quality DVD, which has just been released.

After raising the money to get the program to ­Washington, the Kentucky Humanities Council had to go back to the well for an ­additional $6,500 to produce the DVD, with the total costs to be recouped through sales.

What we can now see is that Breeding and his crew captured the proceedings in stunning detail, with shots that take the viewer onto the stage with the performers and also relay the grandeur of the occasion.

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Billy the Barber (Reginald Smith Jr.) is a key character in reminding Abraham Lincoln (Nick Provenzale) of his commitment to fight slavery. Photo from Sept. 29 rehearsal by Rich Copley, LexGo.com.

I’ve talked before at le blog about the challenge of reviewing University of Kentucky Opera Theatre productions because the collegiate company always double-casts shows due to singers’ needs for vocal rest — professional companies rarely put a show up on consecutive days for that reason — and to spread experience around.

It has its up sides, of course, but one downside is that only one cast gets reviewed by the paper. We simply do not have the time or space to review a show twice, and waiting for both casts to perform would hamper our efforts to deliver a timely review.

The same is true for UKOT’s world premier production of River of Time, which opened Thursday night at the Lexington Opera House. Nick Provenzale sings the lead role of Abraham Lincoln all three nights, but most of the primary singing roles are double cast. We reviewed Cast A (UKOT’s termionology) last night, which acquitted itself quite well in a new opera that had some big issues in story and pace.

Abraham Lincoln (Nick Provenzale) tries to comfort Ann Rutledge (Julie La Douceur) in her final hours in "River of Time."

That said, I did get to catch Cast 1, which performs tonight (Oct. 9), in a rehearsal last week, and if you are holding tickets for tonight’s performance or are thinking of going, I don’t think you’ll be shortchanged.

Among the standouts set to go on tonight are Reginald Smith Jr. as Billy the Barber and Julie LaDouceur as Ann Rutledge.

Based on what I caught that evening, some of the different performers will likely bring different vibes to their work. LaDouceur’s Ann seemed sweeter and more whistful than Amanda Balltrip’s more feisty, jocular take. And Smith, whose voice will always get your attention, put a lot of comand behind his version of Billy, performed with tremendous empathy by Mark Elliott Golson II last night and Saturday.

So the takes may be somewhat different, but either way, you should expect some terrific performances.