'Susannah' tells American tale

Tennessee mountain folk await the spiritual revival of preacher Olin Blitch as rumors and jealous hearsay fly about a young lady in their community. That is only the beginning of what the IU Opera Theater's third production of the year, "Susannah" by Carlisle Floyd has to offer. American composer Carlisle Floyd's modern verismo opera, meaning realistic and in-your-face, opened in 1955. Having been performed at IU previously, this year will feature a new production design from Professor of Music C. David Higgins. The music of the opera is very similar in style to the music of Aaron Copland and George Gershwin for the use of folk melodies, dances and arias. The opera itself does not sound like the proverbial opera and the story is very American. "(Susannah) does have some similarities with Musical Theatre," said senior Nathan Bick who will play Susannah's friend Little Bat. "It has a variety of musical styles: folk tunes, church hymns and arias. The setting, rural Tennessee, is like numerous other American musical theatre pieces set in the country." The story brings preacher Olin Blitch to New Hope Valley, Tenn. for a spiritual revival. Susannah Polk, who receives much attention for her attractiveness, is scorned by the women in the town. But the preacher dances with Susannah and for a moment she is forgiven. But when they find her bathing in the stream where the baptism is to take place, she is frowned upon again. Blitch convinces her to make a public confession, but Susannah runs home. Blitch finds her and tells her he's leaving and that he's not only interested in her soul. The opera's story, taken from the apocryphal "Book of Susannah," is very much an American story with its jealousy, zealous yet spiteful townsfolk and ultimate message of love. "(Susannah) deals with passion and violence in a raw state," said stage director Vincent Liotta, a professor of music. "It also tries to give a picture of this in an 'unvarnished' way which recreates as closely as possible the mores and manners of the society in which it is placed, i.e., rural Tennessee." The opera is one of two by American composers this season. It marks the opera marks the premiere of two undergraduate students in leading roles: senior Nick Coppolo as Sam, Susannah's brother, and Bick as Little Bat. The singers said they have embraced their roles. "The challenge of this show is being able to execute the challenging music and not lose the dramatic intensity or reality of the story," Bick said. "I think many members of the cast find themselves exhausted from the drama as much as from the singing." "Susannah" marks the return of School of Music graduate and maestro Christopher Larkin, who met and worked with Floyd while working at the Houston Grand Opera. Larkin was recently appointed music director of the New York City Opera National Company. But for the past month he has prepared the IU singers and orchestra for the performances. Larkin said he thinks the production will be a worthwhile experience for opera virgins. "I think it's an excellent opera for someone who hasn't seen much opera because the characters are very immediate and it's in English and the basic themes are very believable," he said. "These are very realistic themes of jealousy, religious intolerance, societal intolerance, lust as well as political themes." Liotta said there is something profound in the music for a student audience. "It is especially important to our time since it speaks very much to the way in which we all suffer when we try to create demons to take responsibility for our acts instead of accepting responsibility for our own lives." "Susannah" opens tonight and plays through Saturday and Nov. 17-18 at 8 p.m. at the Musical Arts Center. Student tickets range from $9-14 and are available through the MAC box office or at all TicketMaster outlets.

Clip 1:			Clip 2:
	RealAudio: Lo-fi | Hi-fi			RealAudio: Lo-fi | Hi-fi
	Windows Media: Lo-fi | Hi-fi			Windows Media: Lo-fi | Hi-fi