Opera cast gets insight into Amistad

The cast of the opera "Amistad," ambled in, one by one, through the door of Gretchen Barbatsis' small, elegant Wraggborough home, bearing gifts of fried and barbecue chicken, strawberries mingled with blackberries, avocado dip and chips.

The impetus for the occasion, besides the fact there was no rehearsal that evening, was that Barbatsis had invited Carolyn Jabulile White, a James Island native and authority on the Gullah culture, to meet with New York soprano Janinah Burnett, who is Barbatsis' guest while performing in the Spoleto Festival USA opera.

"I wanted to know more about this Gullah that I had heard so much about, and I felt it would strengthen my portrayal of a scared young mother who has been forced from her family in Sierra Leone," Burnett says.

On that recent rainy Sunday afternoon, surrounded by such talents as Kevin Maynor, (who was in Spoleto's "Salome" in 1990); "Amistad" director Sam Helfrich and set designer Caleb Wertenbaker, White held court, majestic in colorful dangling earrings and hand-woven bracelets from friends in Africa. She answered questions and told stories in a language that is a mix of African languages and English that developed among black slaves on the local sea islands.

White also listened intently to those whose role in "Amistad" calls for them to portray captives who staged a rebellion on the slave ship by that name in 1839 as it was on its way to Cuba. It ended up off the tip of Long Island and the 50-member cargo and crew were captured by the U.S. Coast Guard.

"I suppose y'all know that at least 40 percent of your ancestors landed right here in Charleston where they were sold as slaves," said White, who explains she was given her Zulu name of Jabulile, meaning "happiness," on a trip to her homeland in South Africa.

No, they didn't know.

"And you should know that the customs and culture your people brought to America are part of the Gullah heritage," explained White. "These customs and the language were meshed together with those in America which then created Gullah."

Outside, clouds gathered and thunder rolled, as slavery and its impact came out of the history books and into real lives. Director Sam Helfrich said, "We welcome discussion such this as this opera is like no other. 'Amistad' is not only relevant to Charleston, but these issues of race, some which are very ugly, are alive and well today."

Read more in Sunday's Post and Courier.