October 16-22, 2003

opera

Go: Susannah

by David Shengold

Carlisle Floyd's Susannah, premiered modestly in Florida in 1955, soon became one of American opera's few genuine success stories. Anyone interested in postwar neo-realism (Williams, Miller) or in the kind of music theater the Prince champions shouldn't miss the Opera Company's fine current staging of Floyd's moving, tuneful work, very much part of that artistic history.

Susannah retells in (all too) contemporary terms the biblical story of Susannah and the Elders. A teenager in a remote Southern valley -- gorgeously evoked by Paul Shortt's lovely set -- is stigmatized for her poverty and (especially) beauty by her church's elders and their wives, unwittingly causing a scandal when the elders (looking for a baptismal stream) happen upon her bathing nude in a forest creek. They transform their lust into hypocritical rage. The charismatic preacher Olin Blitch, attempting to shame her into confession, ends up seducing her, discovering her "innocence" while destroying it. The churchfolk remain intransigent; her hunter brother, Sam, shoots Blitch dead in the baptismal stream. The townspeople try to drive Susannah from the valley, but armed with a gun and a new, all-consuming bitterness, she's ready to stand her ground.

At least implicitly a response to McCarthy-era demands for conformity, Susannah retains its impact in a climate mistrustful of female sexuality, when Bush has proclaimed this "Marriage Protection Week" and when (as on opening night, Oct. 11) fundamentalist loonies roam 13th Street with signs denouncing sodomites.

Mary Mills makes a very appealing heroine, tracing Susannah's odyssey convincingly. Her clear soprano is a shade light for her two ravishing songs, "Ain't it a pretty night" and "The trees on the mountains," but she handles both well. (The latter may haunt you for days.) David Pittsinger's Blitch, looking and sounding good, proves more convincing in the seduction scene than the harrowing, potentially showstopping revival meeting, where only larger-than-life presence and vocalism will do. (This scene's relatively muted impact is the only shortcoming in Robert B. Driver's straightforward staging.) Jay Hunter Morris' clear projection and skilled acting make Sam his best local work. Other standouts (for diction and voice both) are superb Curtis contralto Meredith Arwady (Mrs. Ott) and powerful tenor Jason Collins (Elder Gleaton). Scottish conductor Stewart Robertson makes a most welcome company debut. On opening night the 77-year-old Floyd won deserved cheers.

SUSANNAH

Through Oct. 26, Opera Company of Philadelphia, Academy of Music, Broad and Locust sts., 215-732-8400.

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