D'ua (Prayer) for Broken Shelter

Composer Michael Williams.
Libretto Tracey Slaughter and Nida Fiazi.
Director John Davies.
Conductor Peter Scholes

In 2018, Michael Williams and his family volunteered with the Hamilton Red Cross to assist in a refugee resettlement programme.
They attended six weeks of workshops to prepare for the arrival of the family they were to support as they settled into a new home in Hamilton.

From this experience grew Michael’s determination to write an opera about the situation of refugees; at present, over 70 million worldwide. He approached his colleague at the University of Waikato, Tracey Slaughter, asking her to consider writing a libretto. She in turn, invited a former Afghan refugee, Nida Fiazi, to collaborate. The libretto they jointly wrote is compelling and poetic. As a result, Michael’s composition is haunting; woven with melody, suspenseful orchestration and a unique blend of western and middle eastern instruments. I was invited to direct a development workshop of the first 30 minutes of the opera, most of the first act.

This took place at the University of Waikato with a presentation in the Gallagher Concert Chamber and the following day at the NZO Studio in Parnell. A superb cast of singers- Phillip Rhodes, Kristin Darragh, Elizabeth Mandeno and Stephanie Acraman were joined by the university choir of 10 and an orchestra of 13 conducted by Peter Scholes.

The outcome has garnered constructive responses, and there is a positive focus on taking the discoveries of the workshop into the next stage of composition and development.

As director, it was a joy to have such a fine work to place into space. The director of NZO wrote congratulating the company and complimented the direction by saying;

“I wanted to thank you for your detailed and empathetic work on Du’a (Prayer) for Broken Shelter. It was a huge success”.

D’ua (Prayer) for Broken Shelter was scheduled for an NZO production in March 2024, however, due to change in Managing Director, this did not eventuate.

It is currently being developed with another partner.