Floyd - Susannah

A fine example of good American Opera:
I was first introduced to Carlisle Floyd's opera "Susannah" in an Opera Workshop class presentation, which led me to obtain a copy of this wonderful 1994 studio recording. Floyd composed the score and libretto to this 1950s folk opera, which is an allusion to the biblical story of Susanna and the Elders-found in the apocryphal books-updated to the backwoods of Tennessee of the early twentieth century. "Susannah" is also seen as an allegory for McCarthyism, in which several actors and politicians were accused of having ties to communism. Only in this story, the accusers are the members of a theocracy, and the accused is the least guilty of all. Overall, "Susannah" is a tale of the dark side of humanity and, ultimately, the loss of innocence. Soprano Cheryl Studer sings the title role of Susannah Polk, a young and lively eighteen-year-old girl. Living on the margins of society with her slightly drunken, though well-meaning older brother Sam (Jerry Hadley), Susannah is the subject of vile gossip from the elders' wives of New Hope Church-led by the vile Mrs. McLean. McLean, along with her husband, paints Susannah to be "evil" and counts on the itinerant preacher Olin Blitch (Sam Ramey) to save her soul at the upcoming revival. The unfounded gossip of the elders' wives is "confirmed" when the church elders-searching for a baptism creek-discover Susannah bathing nude in a stream. Lies and gossip fly as Susannah's name is ruined in the town... What happens further is a tragic story of the loss of innocence and faith in humanity. "Susannah" is a heartbreaking and powerful story, which I highly recommend to those interested in opera-particularly American opera. For a twentieth century work, Floyd's score remains rather diatonic, simple, and accessible. It also is one of the few scores to be truly married to the plot, helping to move the action along smoothly. Having lived in the south and having been exposed to revival meetings, religious hypocrisy, and itinerant preachers, Floyd really knew how to use the vernacular of the opera's setting and this is reflected in the score which manages a balance of folk song, protestant hymns, revival meetings, with the heavy emotional scenes between Susannah and her brother, as well as Olin Blitch. A perfect example of this is Susannah's second-act aria "The Trees on the Mountains." Performances on this recording are uniformly solid! Cheryl Studer is a true delight and brings an almost Wagnerian intensity to the young Susannah, especially in the second act when her character has been forced from playful, carefree and spirited girl to a truly changed woman. Her aria "Ain't It a Pretty Night?" shimmers and her second act folk-like aria "The Trees on the Mountains" is simply heartbreaking. Olin Blitch is sung by bass-baritone Sam Ramey, no stranger to this role-he sang Blitch in the lauded 1993 Lyric Opera of Chicago production and will return to the Lyric's revival of "Susannah" this fall. Ramey combines all of the slick, fast-talking, and eventual guilt for a truly human portrayal of this preacher. This is especially seen in his "I'm a lonely man, Susannah." Tenor Jerry Hadley offers an equally strong Sam Polk. Kenn Chester is commendable as the impish and easily swayed Little Bat McLean. The recording itself is lush due to the efforts of conductor Kent Nagano and Orchestre de l'Opera de Lyon and its chorus. There is also a libretto (in English, French, and German) with insightful notes from Jonathan Abarbanel and Carlisle Floyd himself.

Authentic dialect to a fault:
What a wonderful piece of Americana! This is a beautiful and powerful opera with a superb cast. There is just one problem: the cast was so well coached on its dialect that it REALLY gets in the way of the singing. There are some simply ugly sounds that come from these singers. I am not looking for the King's English by any stretch of the imagination, but the dialect is too far gone. I fear that too much of this music was lost more to parody over authenticity. Still......after all of that.......a delightful work that deserves more than just one listen.

A classical Aristotlean tragedy--brought low by its tragic flaw:
I am torn in the number of stars to assign (as I am torn in many things) as the merit of the recording varies so sharply among its constituent parts. Much of the opera is superb and merits a five, but the recording's tragic flaw--as such a quality destroyed Oedipus and Lear--is so difficult to surmount that the overall rating must as a consequence suffer. I am, however, getting ahead of myself. Let's start with the superb--the composition itself. A cunning little American gem, resounding nicely of the Bible, stereotypical Appalachian America, and of course the much vaunted McCarthyistic elements of the piece. ("Susannah," after all, criticizes the witch hunts for communists and subversives in the 1950s just as much as Arthur Miller's "The Crucible" does.) The piece is cohesive to say the least and seems initially simple (in its reliance on Quaker hymns, square dances, Appalachian ballads, etc.), but such simplicity is deceptive. In actuality, the musical syntax of the pieces is dense and contrapuntal--intriguing for what the weave of "Americana" says about the piece as much as it is aurally delightful. The piece is compelling in its own right, but especially in this recording for the guiding genius of conductor Kent Nagano. On the whole, the opera has an almost instoppable forward push that never feels rushed--just insistent and beyond the audience's ability to stop (as the plot and thematic elements are similarly unstoppable). Nagano handles it gracefully and warmly; I am a fan of Nagano's on general principle, but feel that this recording of "Susannah" is one of his better pieces. Under Nagano's direction, the chorus is tight and balanced, the requisite tension exists between singers and orchestra... the prayer meeting scene is just thrilling. Of course, the success of the prayer meeting scene--while reliant on the conductor and the orchestra/chorus cannot succeed without its Blitch. Samuel Ramey is fantastic in near everything I've either heard or seen of him, and "Susannah" is no exception. He is to me the ideal Blitch--tortured, self-righteous, penitant, consumed by the force of his own vision. He isn't the most evil man here; Ramey portays him as a human being. (A sometimes misguided human being, a sometimes admirable human being who desires to better himself...) On the whole, the character is not flat. That said, Ramey is nearly the only singer for whom I have a word of praise. (The one exception is Jerry Hadley--singing the role of Sam in truly fine voice, if at times muddled in diction and certainly stridently over the top with his dialect. It's painful sometimes, though less so than in other singers.) The casting is truly the tragic flaw that makes this recording of "Susannah" not only a tragedy of plot but a tragedy of production. What would have been a superb recording is in my opinion utterly destroyed by the title character, Susannah (sung by Cheryl Studer). As the title character is so truly awful, I cannot give what might otherwise had a 4+ or a five anything more than a 3 rating. What are Ms. Studer's problems? The most immediate is the dialect, which may arguably not be her fault but nonetheless detracts from the overall quality of the opera. Susannah is transformed from a sympathetic tragic character to a characterized backwoods hick--which for me is a truly tragic perversion of the text. It's perfectly doable to suggest at the appropriate accent (and thus convey the flavor of the piece) without bludgeoning the audience with it. In Ms. Studer's case, the dialect interferes with her pitch and renders many of her notes truly ugly. (I use that word sparingly on general principle, but I must use it here.) Now, Susannah is a character that could conceivably have some steel--though I have seen sweeter Susannahs pull of the role admirably as the character is supposed to be an innocent--but in this case, the production could have used a little less of the steel. Studer is altogether too forceful at times and as a consequent sacrifices both pitch and the innocence of her character. Yes, Susannah does want to see "what's beyond them mountains," but not to the extent that she loses the natural beauty of character that renders her such an object of jealousy and lust. Perhaps if Studer were just forceful (and did not have the accent) or sang on pitch and more aesthetically (but had the accent), I would find her more tolerable, but in all I was disappointed that this (and only one other recording) are the only options available of this gem. (Studer isn't all bad, incidentally--there are moments that I like her in, but on the whole I am not a fan.) In any event, I happen to like this opera, so I am not sorry I purchased it--despite deficiencies in the title role. It's cohesively conducted, frequently sublime, and truly dramatic and stirring. I only wish its principle character had been recast so that the entirety of the recording were not brought low.

I was underwhelmed.:
I guess I'm in the minority, but I didn't care for this recording, and the reason for that sat squarely on Ms. Studer's shoulders. Her voice was practically inaudible in the lower register, and unpleasantly strident on the top. Her accent was so pronounced as to spoil the line of the arias, and remove what beauty there was to the sound. (In the case of accents, less is more, especially when it comes to singing lush, romantic arias - even ones set in Tennessee.) The rest of the cast was good. Sam Ramey was still in great voice for this recording, and there is a nice intensity to his sound that suited the character well. The ensembles were tight, and well done. Unfortunately, though, as the soprano makes the entire opera, it's hard for me to listen to the rest of the recording without her performance souring it.

The stellar recording:
As this tremendous work is to be performed during the 2007/2008 Season with Opera Pacific, in Southern California, I must highly recommend this particular recording. What is very sad is that the recording is so terribly difficult to locate...if you can, grab it while you are able. Samuel Ramey's performance for his role simply is perfection. I need to say nothing more...