Composer Walter Robinson brings gospel music and African-American history to classic opera March 24, 1992 By John Budris Special to The Christian Science Monitor CAMBRIDGE, MASS. AFRICAN-AMERICAN...
"[In 1984], Mr. Robinson became a fellow at Harvard University's Du Bois Institute, an independent research facility that brings scholars together to pursue African and African-American themes. There Robinson began work on "Look What a Wonder Jesus Has Done," an opera based on the life of Denmark Vesey. For Robinson, Vesey encompassed what he called the 'dichotomy of the African-American hero.'
" 'He [Vesey] was a devout Christian but had to reconcile the use of violence to regain his people's dignity. He was a prosperous and free African at a time and in a place when 70,000 of his brothers and sisters were enslaved,' explains Robinson.
" 'Originally I had intended to write the opera about Harriet Tubman and the 'underground railroad.' But the contradictions faced by a black male brought another dimension to the story I wanted to tell.'"