Woody Guthrie Anniversary inspires Opera

Next Saturday is the 100th anniversary of the birth of folk singer Woody Guthrie. Among other songs he wrote and made famous is "This Land Is Your Land". Folk singer Michael Jonathon who you probably know as the host of the nationally syndicated radio program,  "WoodSongs Old Time Radio Hour", is the creator of a new work of opera based on Woody Guthrie's life and music. 

Part of Michael's appreciation of folk music came from his next-door neighbor as he was growing up in upstate New York, Pete Seeger. Pete and Woody are icons of American folk music, but just how did Michael get the idea that an opera was the right medium to stage this work?