Manitoba Opera

Nov 16, 2019

COMPANY PREMIERE OF SUSANNAH OPENS 2019/20 SEASON

COMPANY PREMIERE OF SUSANNAH OPENS 2019/20 SEASON

NOVEMBER 23, 26, 29

A Story of Survival and Standing Up for Your Truth

 

The moving story of a young woman’s stand for truth against the hypocrisy of her secluded community and the preacher who has designs on more than just her soul, opens Manitoba Opera’s 2019/20 season. The company premiere of Susannah, by the esteemed American composer Carlisle Floyd, will be presented at the Centennial Concert Hall Saturday, November 23 (7:30 pm), Tuesday, November 26, (7 pm), and Friday, November 29 (7:30 pm). Susannah will be sung in English with English projections.

For tickets call 204-944-8824, go online at mbopera.ca, or in person at the MO Box Office, lower level, Centennial Concert Hall (9:30 am – 4:30 pm, Monday to Friday).  Seniors, students, and youth discounts are available.

Susannah is the most-performed American opera after Porgy and Bess. This “powerfully emotional piece is among the finest achievements in American opera.” (Nashville Music Scene 2015).

Floyd, the son of the southern Methodist Minister, reset the Apocryphal Bible story of Susanna and the Elders to rural Tennessee during a revival meeting. Floyd’s music for Susannah is rooted in Appalachian folk melodies, Protestant hymns, and traditional classical music with hints of Copeland and Bernstein. The opera features memorable songs and folksy arias like “Ain’t It a Pretty Night” and “The Trees on the Mountains.”

“With themes of intolerance, religious hypocrisy, social harassment, and alienation, this gripping drama with unforgettable music continues to be so very poignant over sixty years after its debut,” commented Larry Desrochers, Manitoba Opera General Director & CEO. “Floyd’s opera is thoroughly American and is a very relatable work.”

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