Opera at USC: Susannah by Carlisle Floyd

“He is a master of creating mood in the orchestra….” wrote the Los Angeles Times about Carlisle Floyd, a South Carolina born composer. Floyd is the 2004 National Medal of Arts and the 2008 National Endowment for the Arts Opera Honoree for lifetime work recipient. Opera at USC presents Floyd’s Susannah – 65 years since its premiere it stands as one of the most beloved American operas.

About Susannah, SFGate declared “The composer’s first mature opera, and still his best known, is a small marvel of ferocity and compassion….”

Susannah is an adaptation of the Biblical story of Susanna and the Elders, updated to modern times and relocated to a fictional rural community. The drama centers on the unjust ostracizing and abuse of Susannah by her community and their powerful leaders who are simultaneously repulsed and captivated by her uncommon beauty and poverty. Unable to defend her innocence by her words alone, Susannah eventually turns to violence and cruelty, weapons that her tormentors had used against her, in order to protect herself.