Black Opera About Nova Scotian Contralto Portia White ‘A Love Letter to Black Women’

By Neil Armstrong

Photo credit: Librettist/Director HAUI      The three Aportias, left to right, Neema Bickersteth, Adrienne Danrich, and SATE

The upcoming world premiere of “Aportia Chryptych: A Black Opera for Portia White” is considered a “love letter to Black women” by Haui, the director and librettist, as it sets out to reclaim the Black Canadian contralto’s story, evoking memories of the past as a form of political resistance.

On June 14, 15 and 16, it will be presented at the Canadian Opera Company Theatre on Front Street in Toronto, the city in which White lived after moving from Halifax, Nova Scotia, and died of cancer on February 13, 1968, at age 56. 

White, who was born in Truro, Nova Scotia, was the first Black Canadian concert performer to achieve international fame in the mid-20th century, touring North America and performing in Europe while being hailed as the best classical voice of her generation. Yet despite such artistic accomplishments, her story has been erased from Canadians’ collective memory.

For Haui, it is poetic justice to share White’s work in an artform that rejected her.  It is a recovery of what she did in her lifetime as someone who walked the streets of Toronto and Halifax and tells her story not just as an icon, but also an individual who faced struggles and battled breast cancer, said Haui, who also describes White as Black royalty.

Spoken word, rap, folk songs, hip-hop, R&B, and classic opera repertoire collide in an explosive score that seeks to break down musical silos and unite artistic and cultural communities.

Sean Mayes, composer, said it was important to include the various genres of music to showcase the Black culture from which White came. Evidence of that creativity was showcased on February 20, at “A Musical Scripture,” a preview of the Black opera, at the Free Concert Series in the Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre in the Canadian Opera Company’s opera house, Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts.

The sneak peek included sopranos Neema Bickersteth as Portia Body, SATE as Portia Soul and Jonelle Sills (standing in for Adrienne Danrich who is based in New York City) as Portia Spirit accompanied by pianist Joy Brown, percussionist Matthew Machanda, and assistant director/assistant producer Sheree Spencer.

“It is February 13th, 1968, the night of Portia White's death. Portia lifts the veil, stepping over into the spirit realm, where she is fractured into her Body, Soul, and Spirit. Within the Bardo (the crossroads between life and death), memories compound as Portia revisits pivotal moments in her past. A figure from her former life begets a maelstrom of memories, fragments of her family, and echoes of her earthly existence, which Portia must decode and decipher. As Portia contends with letting go, she must learn to reconcile in the hopes of ascension. Is it better to be remembered; or is it how we live that truly matters?” That synopsis captures the quandary in which White finds herself as she contemplates her mortality.

In her career, there is a pivotal decision she is forced to make, a life of music or motherhood at the age of 24.  “Portia must leave her son Gerald/Jimmie to fend for himself. The figure of the boy returns, who Portia now understands is the lost soul of her son. In her defense, she imparts knowledge mother to son, justifying that life is not easy and that her child must keep on climbin'. Thinking she has made amends, Portia sends her son on his way to fend for himself, enduring the secrets of his past and never to say a mumbalin’ word,” notes the synopsis. 

In Act I, White finds herself once again at the crossroads between life and death, where she encounters her "rival," Marian Anderson. “Portia must wrestle with understanding the history and future of racial barriers, the heartaches of a promised land uncharted, and a rebirth for black equality while contending with her overwhelming desire to find inner cohesion in her fractured state. She can finally break bread with Marian; however, she is once again faced with the form of her son.”

In Act II, amidst the Bardo, Portia Spirit and Portia Body urge Portia Soul to ride on and continue through the intermediate realm to deal with her unfinished business. Portia encounters the echoes of World War Two and the effects on women in the workforce. These memories parallel her recollection and climb to international success as she prepares for her New York premiere amidst the growing racism from the American South.

The opera includes a vignette of White and Viola Desmond, “her dearest comrade, and they discuss the legacy of blackness. They find strength together through their sisterhood and feminine power, unknowingly conjuring the spirit of a lost lover.” 

“Portia is faced with the pressures of her performing for Queen Elizabeth I of England. Yet, unbeknownst to those around her, she continues to battle the pains of her illness. Portia wonders if royalty is all it is cracked up to be. Rather than conforming to history's pressures, Portia bends time to redefine what might have happened had she been able to step into her fullest blackness as "the Daughter of Destiny.”

“As she shakes time, her father reappears to her. She spends one last moment with the whole world in her hands. Portia realizes her past actions do not define who she was; instead, it is how we live that truly matters,” notes the synopsis.

Mackenzie Morgan, right, Director, Community Partnerships & Programs, with the some members of the cast and creative team, left to right: composer Sean Mayes, soprano SATE, soprano Neema Bickersteth, soprano Jonelle Sills, director and librettist HAUI, pianist Joy Brown, percussionist Matthew Machanda, and assistant director Sheree Spencer at the Free Concert Series on February 20, 2024, where a musical scripture preview of the opera was presented

The cast and creative teams are composer Sean Mayes with Haui; director and librettist Haui; assistant director Sheree Spencer; dramaturg Neema Bickersteth; conductor Sean Mayes; set & projection design Laura Warren; lighting design Bonnie Beecher; costume design Diseiye Thompson; sound design Wayne Hawthorne; stage manager Kat Chin; and choreography & intimacy director Aria Evans. The three sopranos are Neema Bickersteth as Portia Body, Adrienne Danrich as Portia Spirit, and SATE as Portia Soul.

Haui is an award-winning mixed-media artist who defies categorization. Haui's work explores themes of race, gender, and orientation, shedding light on stories often relegated to the peripheries of history while blurring lines between theatrical mediums. To date, Haui has worked as a director, designer, and deviser of new work for theatre, film, opera, and visual arts working for Canada's leading arts organizations, including the Canadian Opera Company, Stratford Festival, National Arts Centre, Shaw Festival, Canadian Stage, Luminato Festival, Black Theatre Workshop, and more.

Recently Haui was associate director on the Toronto production of "Choir Boy" by Tarell Alvin McCraney. In 2023, Haui directed "Private Flowers," an exploration of queer history produced by Toronto History Museums, supported by the National Ballet of Canada's open residency program and the Ontario Arts Council. Later this year, Playwright's Canada Press will also publish his writing/poetry as part of an anthology of works exploring Black history.

A roundtable chat with the creative team of Aportia Chryptych: A Black Opera for Portia White after a preview of it was presented at the Free Concert Series in the Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts in Toronto

Mayes, who was born in Toronto and based out of New York City, enjoys an active and varied career internationally as a conductor, music director, orchestrator, arranger, composer, author, and educator across North America and Europe, with his work spanning numerous musical styles and performed in some of the world’s largest theatres and concert halls, moving between Broadway, theatre, opera, classical and pops.

In New York, he shares his time as conductor for two Tony Award-winning Broadway productions, the new MJ: The Musical and Hadestown. At home in Canada, he was music director and conductor of the all-Canadian premiere of The Color Purple in 2019, for which he was awarded the Merritt Award for Outstanding Musical Direction.

At the media tour held just before the preview of the opera about Portia White, Al Ramsay, a director of the COC’s board and chair of the COC’s community partnership & programming team; Mackenzie Morgan, director, community partnerships & programs; and Avril Sequeira, director of public relations spoke of opera company’s initiatives to be more representative and inclusive of Canada.

In the Winter 2024 Program, Perryn Leech, COC general director, notes that for the month of February the lineup for its Showcase Series focuses on performances and programming from African and Caribbean artists. He also highlighted the Free Concert Series on February 20 as an “exclusive first listen to the music of Aportia Chryptych: A Black Opera for Portia White” describing its premiere in June as “a major milestone in this project’s journey.”

Al Ramsay, a Director of the COC and Chair of the COC's Community Partnership & Programming Team with arts patron Kamala-Jean Gopie and soprano Jonelle Sills

The Showcase Series features artists and creatives from the Asian, African and Caribbean, and Latin American diasporas, to celebrate and amplify voices of colour through creative expression, storytelling, and cultural participation. Performances are free but require registration.

Meanwhile, the Free Concert Series in the Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre is “committed to removing barriers to support access for all attendees. In line with this commitment, admission is free to all performances, and we invite our attendees to embrace a spirit of inclusion for their fellow concert-goers.”

 

Apart from the Free Concert Series and Showcase Series, the relatively new Community Partnerships & Programs department of the COC includes initiatives such as Opera Makers Programming, COC Summer Opera Intensive, and COC Teen Council.

 

The department is committed to making opera accessible and dedicated to providing diverse access points and opportunities for the next generation of creatives.

 

It connects young people, parents, educators, and communities with meaningful and experiential learning opportunities. “Our programs are designed to spark creative power through culturally responsive and engaging learning opportunities,” notes the department.

 

Some members of the COC Teen Council engaged members of the creative team of “Aportia Chryptych: A Black Opera for Portia White” in a roundtable chat after the preview on February 20.  Their questions were insightful, and the discussion provided an opportunity for members of the public who were curious about the opera to ask questions and hear directly from the creatives.

Al Ramsay, a director of the Canadian Opera Company's Board and Chair of its Community Partnership & Programming Team makes a presentation with Avril Sequeira, Director of Public Relations

Kamala-Jean Gopie and soprano SATE, who plays Portia Soul, in the opera

The Canadian Opera Company will celebrate its 75^th anniversary in 2025.