Songs of the Slave Triangle

Originally published in the Livingston County News (3/1/08)

Geneseo‘s Glenn McClure has helped turn a libretto about the “traingle of the slave trade“ into a multi-national, student-produced opera.

Imoinda, written by Joan Amin-Addo and based on the 17th century novel, Oroonoko, is set to debut on Thursday, May 1 at the School of the Arts in Rochester. It will run until Sunday, May 4. Constructed almost solely by high school students from the School of the Arts, the creation of Imoinda began with a simple conversation between McClure and Geneseo English professor Maria Lima.

Lima, who has been teaching Oroonoko to her Humanities II classes for over ten years, presented the libretto to McClure, who was immediately engaged.
“The libretto [is] so rich with history, imagery and beautiful language, that students of all ethnic backgrounds found something to get excited about,” said McClure.

Imoinda tells the tale of an African princess that is torn from her land during the Atlantic slave trade. Lima, who helped land the school a grant from The New York State Music Fund that made the project possible, said that after first reading the libretto, she “would not rest until seeing it produced.”

She lists its central themes as “the strength of the Caribbean woman, the survival of African diasporic peoples, and the creolization of the new world.”
Coincidentally, McClure was already planning a project that links students in America, England and Ghana in an attempt to study their corresponding histories in the slave trade. “It was the perfect fit,” McClure beamed. The two ideas were combined, and the opera of Imoinda was born.

The production is vastly different from typical high school plays. McClure composed the music (a mix of Caribbean, European and African styles), but writing and production credits belong almost solely to the School of the Arts community. In addition, the Rochester school has been in contact with schools in England and Ghana, and communication between the three has both shaped the progress of the project and will result in a multitude of feedback via online video.

McClure’s brother Wes Kennison, who assisted McClure on a student play in Buffalo last year that centered around the life of Galileo, described these kinds of projects as what is called “arts in education.” The term focuses on the idea of a piece of art that educates as well as stimulates the senses. While many people have a view of the artist as a “lonely isolated genius,” said Kennison, many historical artists like Michelangelo and Leonardo were actually in “constant negotiation with the community.” The idea of an artist creating for the benefit of the community is something that these arts in education projects aim to accomplish.

McClure’s Galileo oratorio, entitled “The Starry Messenger,” gained large critical acclaim last year and was featured at length on NPR’s radio segment, “All Things Considered.” It broke time barriers, which allowed famous historical figures like Aristotle, Einstein and Rosa Parks to all inhabit the same space on stage.

Student participation in Imoinda has grown extremely enthusiastic since its preparatory period. As McClure had hoped, the very subject matter of the opera has sparked conversation among the high schoolers about the importance of acceptance and the issues of racial inequalities.

Even casting the opera was not without its racial hurdles. Students struggled with the decision of either casting actors using accurate skin colors or making the roles “colorblind.” They eventually settled on a compromise, keeping the main characters’ skin tones accurate to the libretto while leaving all other spots open to anyone. As Kennison proudly described, it was a just one of the many challenges that the students recognized and solved completely on their own.

BriAnna Collier, a student at the School of the Arts who is involved with promoting Imoinda, suggested that the embracement of the opera by the students could be equated to its subject matter. “It’s really serious; not all slaves were African American. It really helps to understand the problems with different races.”

Another student, Daniel Broadus, called it “a learning experience for performers and viewers – a historical lesson.”

Kennison describes his brother as a performing musician who never wanted to move to a major city. According to the web site for McClure Productions Inc., McClure is known widely for his integration of ethnic music traditions into classical music. Among his many achievements, he offers 500-600 concerts and workshops annually and has done field research alongside Geneseo music professor James Kimball.

Imoinda will be performed at 7 p.m. from May 1 – 4, and also at 2 p.m. on May 3 and 4. Tickets can be purchased at the School of the Arts or at the Wegmans’ ticket counter.