Performed in the Great Hall of Shaw House, 30 January to 1 February.
Music director David Wordsworth; stage director Lisa Harrington.
Curtain call
In another departure from our grand opera background, we performed Susannah by 'the father of American opera' Carlisle Floyd. It resets the biblical tale of Susanna and the Elders to rural Tennessee, against the backdrop of a 1950s church revival, a mass baptism and the arrival of a dynamic preacher. It is the story of a young and innocent woman falsely accused of immorality by her village neighbours — god-fearing, revivalist, and also lascivious and vengeful.
A reviewer got it right when she wrote about 'a fearsomely challenging piece for both singers and musicians'. And music director David Wordsworth, in his first staged production for Kennet Opera, told the team: 'I know that Susannah perhaps took some of you out of your comfort zone but I'm so glad that I suggested the piece and that we pulled together to make it work.'
Susannah, first staged in 1956, is one of the most-performed American operas of all time. With a plot reflecting the febrile atmosphere of the USA's anti-commmunist witch hunts in the McCarthy era, it lays bare the intolerance, misogyny and victimisation that many see on the rise today.
From top: Susannah with her brother Sam and with preacher Olin Blitch; the churchgoers in full song.
Susannah photos
| Susannah | Natalia Cau |
| Sam Polk | Ant Goffart |
| Olin Blitch | Anthony Huggett |
| Little Bat | Owain Walker |
| Elders | |
|---|---|
| Elder McLean | Don Crerar |
| Elder Ott | Phil Adams |
| Elder Hayes | Philip Hayes |
| Elder Gleaton | Edwin Trout |
| Elders' wives | |
| Mrs McLean | Maddie Smart |
| Mrs Ott | Susan Moore |
| Mrs Hayes | Tamsin Slatter |
| Mrs Gleaton | Cathy Black |
| Chorus | |
| Christine Crerar Valeri Gladkova Myfanwy Huggett Felicity Merchant Adrian Slatter |
|
| Piano | Oliver Williams |
| Violin | Helen Page |
