HARRIET TUBMAN: When I Crossed that Line to Freedom (2014)

ACT I: IN SLAVERY

Dorchester County, MD. Circa 1829.Born into slavery, young Araminta or "Minty" Ross is sent away from her family to work for plantation owners in the area. Minty encounters numerous mishaps over the years, until an accident leaves her in a coma. When she recovers, new duties have her learning lumbering from her father and brothers. Mindful of a climate in which human property can e bought and sold, she vows that "nothing but the grave" will part her from her baby sister, Rachel. As a young adult, "Minty" changes her name to Harriet and subsequently marries a free man named John Tubman. Hearing of her impending sale from home, Harriet runs away to the unknown North, aided by the local Reverend, Samuel Green.

ACT II: IN FREEDOM

Two years later, Tubman, speaks to a covert gathering of abolitionists presided over by William Still, the famed Stationmaster of Philadelphia's Underground Railroad Network. Tubman, now a seasoned part of the network, tells of her escape and ambitions of liberating her family. Supported by the abolitionists, and wages earned through domestic work, she begins rescue missions home, each time conducting small groups of family and friends to the north. While each trip is a victory, she struggles with getting Rachel to join her. Tubman's fame grows with the increasing number of runaways secred from the community. Her escapades earn her the moniker "Moses, the Liberator."

American Opera Projects, 2014

Artists:

• Conductor - Leslie B. Dunner
• Director - Lemuel Wade
• Harriet Tubman - Janinah Burnett, soprano
• Rachel Ross - Briana Elyse Hunter, mezzo-soprano
• Rittia "Ma" Ross - Nicole Mitchell, contralto
• Ben "Pa" Ross - Clinton Ingram, tenor
• John Tubman - Damian Norfleet, baritone
• Caroline - Patrice P. Eaton, mezzo-soprano
• Kezzia - Marsha Thompson, soprano
• Sam Green/Reverand Still - Ernest Jackson, tenor
• Brodess/Overseer Pitts - Kyle Guglielmo, baritone
• Robert/Runaway - Anthony P. McGlaun, tenor