The White Lady
Whilst in this dilemma their inner resources are tested and we learn something about that human in particular, and humanity as a whole. This was as far as we went and then in October librettist Lynn John came on board and this basic premise was put to him. From Lynn came the setting of The White Lady and the cast of characters; five drafts later, at the end of December David was able to begin composition. Although this is the third original opera in as many years from David it is the first entirely original libretto and score. It is a daunting task and the process has been a voyage of discovery. Some say that modern opera has many ailments. Many ask “where have all the songs gone?’, yet others yearn for the great epic drama of the huge classical works claiming “that is the stuff of opera” whilst the modernists are more interested in the ability of opera to fashion a universal statement from the sung interaction of the variable motives and intentions of ordinary people. In The White Lady David has achieved a careful blend of the two. We meet real people and live through their trauma, and on the way uplifting and soulful music allows us to glimpse their inner faith, their beauty.
That we have achieved this opening night is something that I am proud of and I can only admire the talent and resource that is David Griffiths. To have composed this work is a testament to his passion and ability in the musical field but it is also about his dedication to the students, providing for them an experience that may feel cauldron like at times, but is invaluable for their training in musical performance. I have nothing but high praise and affection for the cast, drawn from music and theatre studies, who have given their time and talent to enable us to stage this White Lady. She is a streetwise songbird, sassy, brassy and wise and as an icon of New Zealand she has over the years fed most of us.