Copious Notes

Musicians conducted by Jo Nardolillo recorded five arias from "Woody: For the People" at the Singletary Center for the Arts on Feb. 14, 2011. Photo by Larry Steur.

Michael Johnathon’s folk opera Woody: For the People  will be featured on the Feb. 22 (Note, this is a date change from the original posting of this story) broadcast of The Story, a show produced by American Public Media and North Carolina Public Radio that is heard locally at 1 p.m. Monday through Friday on WEKU (88.9 FM).

Michael Johnathon performing on the 500th episode of the "Woodsongs Old-Time Radio Hour" at the Kentucky Theatre Sept. 15, 2008. © Herald-Leader staff photo by Pablo Alcala.

The opera was written by Johnathon, the host of Woodsongs Old-Time Radio Hour, and focuses on the friendship between Woody Guthrie and fellow folk-singer Pete Seeger and the writing of Guthrie’s signature song, The Land is Your Land. The Story broadcast will fall the day before the 72nd anniversary of the day Guthrie wrote the song as a retort to Irving Berlin’s God Bless America.

Woody: For the People is a work in progress aimed for an eventual premiere in Lexington. A CD of five arias from the opera was recorded last February conducted by Jo Nardolillo with a 37-piece orchestra and Nick Provenzale as Guthrie, Gregory Turay as Seeger, and Reginald Smith Jr. as Paul Robeson.