By Herman Silochan

“In the Beginning was the Word.

And the Word was the Beginning.

The Beginning was the Word”

You get into the chorus, you follow the rhythm, you stay with it, and you are slowly transported into the spiritual world of Obeah. Do not be afraid. Remove yourselves from colonial mindset, that all things non-Christian are evil. Why should a belief so ancient be characterized as evil when acknowledging that elemental mother Earth could in fact heal our afflictions?

This is the fundamental question posed before us as we witness something historical. That at numerous times in history, countless and hapless individuals were persecuted for not conforming to perceived Christian dogma. Many perished in flames, were hanged or drawn and quartered.

Salem, Massachusetts 1694 is this opera’s setting, where several slave women are thrown in jail for evil practices and corrupting local white women. The incarcerated women are now branded as witches, and a trial ensues. In the meantime, in jail, these women who have never met before now bond, as they share the same spirit; they spend the night telling their stories, in song.

For our modern audience, these stories are sung in several traditions, from the singular human voice, to choruses, duets, in jazz, R&B and even as hymnals.

In the real trial, the leading slave woman is Tituba. It is acknowledged that she has special powers, and can influence events. The historical Tituba, said to have come originally from Barbados, and through several ownerships, is now in puritanically governed New England states. Literally. For the record, we know of the Salem witch trials, but little is mentioned about the roots of these witches’ beliefs. What we do know from our anthropological perspectives is that as West Africans, the all-pervasive Obeah beliefs predominate -or linger- among the slave population.

This then is Nichole Brooks creation of what is possibly the Caribbean’s first locally conceived and produced opera.

I was privileged to sit in on Tuesday’s first studio rehearsal, the only outsider invited, and, what an honour.

The all-woman cast sat around on the floor with their music books, and in the middle was Macomere Fifi, she of roaring calypso queen fame, winner of numerous awards for her spectacular voice and lyrics. This is her first opera, and I think it is a step in the right direction for her musical career. The other females were selected for “Obeah” after rigorous screening out of around 100 applicants. Collectively, their chants, their solos, their chorus needed no costumes or sets to entertain me, or inform me. The music was enough as it were.

In another part of the studio was a troop of volunteers, all intense before their computers, arranging and re-arranging words and scenes as is the norm in any pre-production sequence.

Overseeing the day’s mayhem were the professionals, Rhoma Spencer -artistic producer- AdriZhinaMandiela who directs the opera, Wilhemina Cromwell on electronic keyboard to set the right key before each song and backing them up, perhaps one of the greatest original stage creators/designers and supporters in the Caribbean arts community, Christopher Pinheiro.

Chatting with “Obeah’s” creator, Nichole Brooks, she said that arriving at the point of inspiration was a long personal spiritual Odyssey that involved meditation, Buddhism and reading about her ancestry. As the story grew, she grew, realising that Obeah the opera was to give voice to the voiceless, dispelling the negativity of obeah, and in the end, jubilation.

There is another aspect to this production. That is, informational, as we enter Black History Month. One of the behind-the scenes personnel is education consultant, Paula Schultz. She has put together for students a thirty page package that can be accessed on the internet. Go to www.obeahopera.com. This is best for teachers to prepare them before school shows which will take place on Feb 21^st, 23^rd, 28^th and 29^th at the Bathurst Cultural Centre, the same venue as the opera for the public.

The producers of this opera are determined to correct false assumptions about this ancient African belief, and I do think something like this is long overdue. Don’t forget the stage entertainment too.

Check the ad in other pages of this newspaper for times of the show.