Eastman Opera stages classic

mall-town Tennessee comes to the Eastman School this spring as Eastman Opera Theatre presents Carlisle Floyd's American classic Susannah. Performances of the opera will be at 8 p.m., Thursday, April 1, through Saturday, April 3, and at 2 p.m., Sunday, April 4.

Susannah is the tale of a young woman in rural Tennessee who becomes a victim of the lies, betrayal, and intolerance of a narrow-minded town. Based on the apocryphal Biblical book of Susannah, the story unfolds around Susannah's continued rejection by the fanatical community in which she lives.

Premiered at Florida State University in 1955 and recently produced at the Metropolitan Opera with Renée Fleming in the title role, Susannah continues to be one of the most celebrated and performed American operas of the second half of the 20th century, according to Steven Daigle, dramatic director of Eastman Opera Theatre.

"It combines concise drama and an inviting musical language with a setting that transports its audience to a time and place that is distinctly 'Americana,'" he says. "The tragic story that unfolds is as relevant today as it was to the political turmoil that defined the nation during its premiere in the 1950s."

The Eastman production, set in the 1940s, features two alternating casts of Eastman voice students and a chorus of 20 accompanied by the Eastman Philharmonia, conducted by Benton Hess, music director and distinguished professor of voice at Eastman.

General admission tickets are $15, with discounts available to University students, faculty, and staff. They are available in person at the Ticket Express Box Office (875 E. Main St. in the Auditorium Theatre), by phone at 232-1900, or online at www.ticketmaster.com. Tickets also may be purchased at the Eastman School Box Office located in the Main Hall.

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