Author’s Note: The breakdown below has been developed from the manuscript of this opera, available to view from Harvard Library. As is the nature of a manuscript, there are many additions and edits which may or may not be included in a final production of this opera. As it is impossible to know the composers original intentions for every piece of music, they are all included below.
Overture
Act 1
Scene 1
Scene 2
- ‘Listen to the distant Tom-Toms’ - Leader, Boy
- ‘Ko no me, Ba bo le ka’ - Chorus
- ‘Low clouds hang low’ - Voodoo, Chorus
- Dance
- ‘Behold our off’ring to the gods’ - Voodoo, Mother
- ‘Happy is my fate’ - Mother
- Purification Scene
- ‘Draw near - prepare for the gods!’ - Voodoo, Girl, Women
- ‘I’m afraid, I’m afraid’ - Girl, Mother
- ‘Go away, It means death’ - Girl, Boy
- ‘Woe to thee rebellious one!’ - Voodoo, Girl, Boy, Mother, Chorus
- ‘Cruel are the gods! Cruel and heartless’ - Boy, Voodoo
- ‘Lo ko kuti ga’ - Chorus
Scene 3
- ‘Ba bo le ka’ - Chorus
- ‘Nkosi ke leh lah ee Africa’ - Voodoo, Boy, Chorus
Scene 4
- Interlude
- Slaves’s Chorus - Chorus, Boy, Voodoo
Act 2
Scene 1
- Introduction
- ‘Darkness, darkness’ - Boy
- ‘Didn’t Lord deliver Daniel’ - Negro Preacher
- ‘I want Jesus to walk with me’ - Boy, Chorus
- ‘Fire! Light! River!’ - Voodoo, Boy, Chorus
Scene 2
- ‘Sometimes I feel like a motherless child’ - Woman, Chorus, Girl, Boy
- ‘Up north dar is big cities’ - Boy, Girl, Woman, Chorus
- ‘The debbil can’t do me no harm’ - Boy, Girl, Chorus
- ‘And so you sing, tho’ far away from home’ - Voodoo, Chorus
- ‘No, no, didn’t my Lord deliver Daniel’ - Mother, Girl, Voodoo, Boy
- ‘We got to all go’ - Voodoo, Woman
Scene 3
- ‘Sharp da sword my Lord’ - Mother, Girl, Chorus
- ‘Dere is peace in dat lan’ where yo bound!’ - Mother, Preacher, Chorus
- ‘It’s freedom! It’s freedom!’ - Boy, Preacher, Mother, Girl, Chorus
- ‘You are free’’ - Voodoo
Act 3
- Cabaret Scene ‘No time’ - Girl
- ‘Dancing feet’ - Girl
- African Dance
Scene 1
- Introduction - Chorus
- ‘Just a minute, folks!’ - Real Estate Man
- ‘What is this you are telling my people?’ - Voodoo, Real Estate Man, Chorus
- ‘But I do not want shares and bonds’ - Mother, Voodoo
- ‘Good evening Elder’ - Mother, Boy, Voodoo, Chorus
- ‘My god is a jealous god’ - Boy, Voodoo, Mother, Real Estate Man
- ‘Heed not this madness’ - Boy, Mother, Voodoo, Real Estate Man
Scene 2
- ‘Everybody talking ‘bout heaven’ - Chorus
- Interlude ‘Dancing Feet’
- ‘My child, I’ve been waiting for you’ - Mother, Girl, Cabaret Manager
- ‘No time’ - Girl, Boy
- ‘Dancing feet’ - Girl, Real Estate Man
Scene 3 - "The World at Work"
- Workers Chorus ‘Yes, we are diggin’, diggin’ coal’ - Chorus (Coal Diggers, Train Men, Carpenters)
- ‘Buy your shares now’ - Real Estate Man, Voodoo, Pilgrims, Mother, Captain
Scene 4
- ‘I’m going down to the ship’ - Mother, Boy, Voodoo, Girl, Chorus
- ‘Where is this man’ - Chorus
- ‘Oh my people’ - Voodoo, Girl, Chorus
- ‘You kill him’ - Mother
- ‘Stand back, savages’ - Boy
- ‘It does not matter now, my boy’ - Voodoo, Boy, Girl
- ‘Talk about a child that do love Jesus’ - Mother, Chorus
Additional material
Act 3 Scene 1
- ‘Words do not come to me quickly’ - Voodoo, Boy, Real Estate Man, Mother, Chorus
Voodoo invites the people to sail with him in search of gold and gems, before the Real Estate Man approaches him with the idea of selling stocks and bonds. This would come before ‘Just a minute folks’.
Act 3 Scene 1
- ‘Good evening parson, how’s your health’ - Real Estate Man, Boy
The Real Estate Man tries to appeal to the Boy, who is now a Reverend, and to sell him on the idea of their ship to Africa. The Boy refuses to be involved in shady business dealings with the Real Estate Man.
Act 3 Scene 3
- ‘Oh, drive dat hammer boy’ - Chorus, Real Estate Man
Additional chorus material for the workers chorus scene. The Real Estate Man introduces and explains the steamship company and sells his shares.
Act 3 Scene 2
- ‘Oh boundless love, oh blessed peace’ - Chorus, Girl
- ‘Were you there when they crucified my Lord’ - Mother, Boy, Real Estate Man, Workers
Further music for the church scene. The Boy preaches of the dangers of following those talking of diamonds and gold in Africa. The Real Estate Man starts selling stocks in the church. Note, this is marked as Act 3 Scene 4, but leads directly into the Interlude and ‘My child I’ve been waiting for you’.
- ‘My child I’ve been waiting for you’ - Mother, Girl
Further music for the scene between the Mother and Girl.
Act 3 Scene 4
- ‘Yes we are diggin’, diggin’ coal’ - Chorus, Real Estate Man, Voodoo, Chairman
Further music for the workers scene, including a conversation between Voodoo and the Chairman, who explains that the stock is sold twice over.
- ‘I have come for one last word with you’ - Boy, Voodoo, Captain
The Boy approaches Voodoo and accuses him of creating this scheme of stocks and shares. Voodoo tries to explain that it was never his idea, he only dreams of returning home. The Captain tries to explain that the ship is already overcrowded, but Voodoo tells him he must make room for everyone. This leads directly to the scene where the people storm the ship, and then the Mother’s aria ‘You kill him’.
Act 3 Scene 1
Alternative version of the same scene.
A song with an asterisk (*) before the title indicates a dance number; a character listed in a song with an asterisk (*) by the character's name indicates that the character exclusively serves as a dancer in this song, which is sung by other characters.
