Evening star., 1933-05-28
Local Composer Wins Medal for Best American Opera
By Society Chicago

nearly all Of the composers who have
won this medal have written operas
which have been produced at the Metro
politan Opera House in New York City.
The story of how Mr.. White secured
the time and the chance to write his
opera shows how a determination to
accomplish something worth while,
coupled with an indomitable will to find
way of doing SO in spite of almost
insuperable obstacles, usually wins out
in the end. As far back as 1922, Mr..
White tells me. he began to think seri-
ously of writing an opera. At one time
he lived in Boston, where he saw and
heard many productions of the Boston
Opera Co. But his duties were always
too heavy for him to do much creative
work His original idea was conceived
around the life story of Toussaint
L'Ouverture, the great Haitian soldier,
statesman and martyr, whose career
reads more like fiction than fact.
1t is easy to understand how any
body with African blood in his veins
should choose TOussaint LOuverture
as the hero about whom to write an
opera or a play. This man was born
slave and remained slave till he
was 48 years old, before the iron
entered his soul and fired him with
d uSUCI w NC 1lCCs 4AiCAA, 90
commander in chief of forces, most of
whom were Africans and, like him
self, had been slaves, he drove rich
and powerful Great Britain from his
island. He proved himself to be more
than a match for Napoleon in the
art of honorable warfare. He took
charge of his island as President for
life gave his country constitution
and was prevented from attaining unto
higher, nobler achievements by an act
of treachery as diabolical and base as
was ever conceived in the brain OF an
unScrupulouS man.
Mr.. White had made many sketches
with Toussaint L'Ouverture in mind
Then he Went to the West Virginia
State College to take charge of the
department of music and there he met
John F. Matthews, who had nearly
completed a drama built upon the life
story of Toussaint L'Ouverture. The
two young men thought it might be
we'll to combine their effort. And so,
in the Summer of 1929 they went to
Haiti together to collect material first
hand for their project Their effort in
this direction was crowned with sue
cess.
After sleeping himself in the history
of Haiti, seeing the people With his
own eyes, learning their traditions and
observing their customs, some of them
very curious and quaint, Mr.. White
was more eager than ever to weave
all these new and interesting things
into the musical score of an opera.
But when Mr.. White returned home,
it was as impossible as it ever was for
him to start to work on his opera and
use the wealth of material which he
had obtained His duties as teacher
still stared him in the face.
Then Mr.. White was inspired. The
inspiration came to him In the shape
of determination to write to the Ros-
enWald Foundation to ask for fellow
ship which would enable him to go to
Paris to study. The Rosenwald Foun
dation, however, refused to grant Mr.
Whites request and withheld the fel-
loWship for which he asked. Nothing
daunted Mr.. White applied the second
time. In this second effort he gave
such indisputable proof of his ability
to produce something creditable, If he
only had chance, that his request was
granted and he was given $4,000 to
support himself, his wife and son in
Paris for two years.
When Mr.. White reached Paris he
realized that it might be difficult for
him to get in touch with NJ. LapaSra,
the best operate composer in France.
But here fortune smiled upon him
sweetly, for he learned by chance that
this great master had married a young
woman with whom he had gone to
school, when he was studying in the
Oberlin Conservatory of Music So the
way of meeting the man whom he
wished to teach him was suddenly
made smooth.
1t was M. Laparra also who helped
Mr.. White get an additional 81 800,
before he returned home, when his
funds ran short and he was in danger
of being financially embarrassed Mr.
! Laparra wrote q letter to the Rosen-