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Music Text

Libretto by the composer, based on the story “Susannah and the Elders” from the Apocrypha (E,G)

Scoring

Major roles: S,T,BBar; minor roles: 2S,M,A,3T,2Bar; chorus; dancers
2(II=picc).2(II=corA).2(II=bcl).2(II=dbn)-4.2.3.1-timp.perc:SD/cyms/
gong/xyl-cel-harp-strings

Abbreviations (PDF)

Publisher

Boosey & Hawkes

Territory
This work is available from Boosey & Hawkes for the world.

Availability

World Premiere
24/02/1956
Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL
Lynn Orr, director
Conductor: Karl Kuersteiner
Company: Florida State University

Roles

Susannah Polk Soprano
Sam Polk, her brother Tenor
Olin Blitch, an evangelist Bass-baritone
Little Bat McLean Tenor
Elder McLean Baritone
Elder Gleaton Tenor
Elder Hayes Tenor
Elder Ott Baritone
Mrs. McLean Mezzo-soprano
Mrs. Gleaton Soprano
Mrs. Hayes Soprano
Mrs. Ott Contralto
People of New Hope Valley Singers & Dancers
Time and Place

The Recent Past, New Hope Valley, Tennessee

Synopsis

Written during the McCarthy era, Susannah is based loosely on the Apocryphal tale of Susannah and the Elders. In New Hope Valley, Tennessee, Susannah – a pretty and well-mannered young woman of humble origins – is faced with hostility from her church community. The opera opens at a square dance given by her church; a group of wives, jealous of Susannah’s beauty and the attention it brings from their husbands, are gossiping about her. Mrs. McLean, one of the wives, states that you can’t expect more from someone who was raised by her drunken brother. Finally, the Reverend Olin Blitch, newly arrived to lead the congregation, enters and asks Susannah to dance despite the gossip. Later that evening, Susannah tells her admirer Little Bat – son of Mrs. McLean and her husband, an elder of the church – about the dance; Little Bat leaves abruptly once her brother Sam returns from hunting

The next morning Susannah is innocently bathing naked in the creek near her home; she is discovered by the elders, who are searching for a baptismal stream. They conceal their lust with outrage and tell the community of her wickedness. Susannah arrives at a church dinner that evening and is sent away, much to her confusion. Later, as she is pondering why she has been shunned, Little Bat tells her that the elders have denounced her for bathing in the nude, and admits that he was coerced into saying she seduced him.

Sam informs Susannah that she must make a public confession in order to be absolved. Though she claims she has nothing to confess, she goes to the service where Olin Blitch is preaching. When she is singled out to come forward, she runs away. Once the service has ended, Reverend Blitch goes to Susannah’s house and offers to pray for her soul; upon discovering that her brother is away, Blitch rapes her.

The next day Blitch, having discovered that Susannah was a virgin, comes to her and begs for forgiveness. He throws himself at Susannah’s mercy, but she refuses to forgive him. When Susannah tells Sam the story he threatens to kill Blitch; he leaves for the baptismal service, carrying his shotgun. Convinced that Susannah led her brother to murder, the community heads to her house to drive her out of the valley. However, Little Bat has warned her in advance, and when the vigilantes arrive she is waiting with a shotgun. They retreat, but she has effectively severed her ties with the community and her world.

Press Quotes

“Composed 50 years ago at the height of the McCarthy persecutions, it is a flawlessly effective melodrama focused on an innocent woman victimised by a narrow Evangelical community in rural Tennessee. …it speaks straight to the heart through music of uninhibited tonal simplicity and Pucciniesque fervour.”
Daily Telegraph

Moods

Dramatic, Tragic

Subjects
Recommended Recording
cd_cover

Cheryl Studer, Jerry Hadley, Samuel Ramey, Kenn Chester, Michael Druiett, Steven Cole, Stuart Kale, David Pittsinger, Anne Howells, Della Jones, Jean Glennon, Elisabeth Laurence, Lyon Opera Chorus, Lyon Opera Orchestra, Kent Nagano
Virgin Classics VCD5450392

Click here to purchase this CD from Amazon

Links

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