Philippa Stevenson: Frank Sargeson goes to the opera

What would Frank Sargeson make of three of his short stories being turned into opera? His friend, poet Kevin Ireland, thinks the man known as the father of New Zealand literature would have been intrigued and delighted.

Sargeson was fascinated by the theatre and wrote plays but is unlikely to have listened to opera. For one thing there was very little of it in New Zealand during Sargeson's lifetime, even on Radio 1YC, the forerunner of the concert programme, to which he listened each evening.

And most of the time the struggling writer could barely afford a movie ticket, let alone more pricey entertainment, Ireland said.

So next week, when for the first time three operas inspired by Sargeson's work are performed in his Hamilton birthplace, it will be friends like Ireland who will be pleased that his work continues to be enjoyed, and to take forms the man himself would probably wonder at.

Composer David Griffiths, of Waikato University's music department, began the challenging task of turning the stories - two barely four pages long, one just eight - into high art 10 months ago. This second opera by the leading baritone is entitled 3 Franks.

I met Griffiths and director John Davies in the foyer of the Waikato Academy for the Performing Arts, where Sargeson's stories will take to the stage. They are now aptly dubbed "birdbrain, bigot and blighter", and as chamber opera will run, respectively, for 12, 15 and 35 minutes. What other transformations have they undergone?

Under Sargeson's pen, "birdbrain", first published in 1936, was called "They Gave Her a Rise" and tells of the fickle Mrs Bowman's short-lived concern for her daughter after a deadly explosion in the ammunition factory where the girl worked.

"Bigot", originally "Two Worlds", and first published in 1941, is the story of two boys who find a rosary and their fiercely Protestant grandfather. "Blighter", or "A Great Day", from 1937, is the tale of two men who go fishing on a sunny day, one with murder in mind.

Though born in Hamilton, Sargeson spent most of his life in Takapuna, also Griffiths' home patch. He recalls long days fishing at Takapuna Beach and expeditions to Rangitoto. He's a longtime Sargeson fan.

"I always wanted to do 'A Great Day'.

"I know some of the rocks off Rangitoto and I wonder if they could be the ones where Fred leaves Ken," he said of the murderous character in the tale who abandons his non-swimming rival in love on an ocean-swamped reef.

All three stories have a dark side; but Griffiths describes the tone of the works as, individually, comical, quizzical and catastrophic.

Best of all for the composer, though, was Sargeson's genius for painting characters and his good dialogue.

"It's rich, strong writing with this dark gravity all the way through."

For instance, on stage, Fred and Ken look like two men in a dinghy happily fishing in the sun, where a comment like Fred's, "Wouldn't you like to stay out here for good?", would seem innocent. Until you know the rest of the story.

And it would be helpful if next week's audience do know the stories. But Griffiths and Davies are also confident their storytelling won't leave people wondering.

One of Davies' biggest challenges in the production, which features cast and orchestra made up mostly of Waikato University's music and theatre studies students, has been to portray two separate houses, a street, a gateway in another street and an ocean - all within an hour-long performance.

The opera will have four performances from next Thursday but Kevin Ireland, who will give the annual Sargeson lecture in Hamilton earlier the same week, hopes that the production will be staged elsewhere and especially in Auckland, where the writer's legacy is also strong.

* Sargeson lecture, Tuesday, August 16, 7.30pm, WEL Energy Trust Academy of Performing Arts, Hamilton. 3 Franks, same venue, August 18 to 20.