Susannah: A Musical Drama

Mission Opera to present ‘Susannah’ by Carlisle Floyd, an American Musical Drama in English, adapted from the Apocryphal tale of “Susannah and the Elders” and set in 1950s Bible Belt Appalachia. Carlisle Floyd’s Susannah is one of the most-performed American operas of all time. Composed 50 years ago at the height of the McCarthy era persecutions, it is a flawlessly effective melodrama focused on an innocent woman victimized by a narrow Evangelical community in rural Tennessee. According to the Daily Telegraph, “it speaks straight to the heart through music of uninhibited tonal simplicity and Puccini-esque fervor.” Meagan Carlson and Adrien Roberts (Sat matinee) star as Susannah, the beautiful Appalachian girl who innocently incites the lust of her church Elders, leading to her denouncement as a sinner.