Opera, Music and Theater Students at CSUN Join Forces in ‘Susannah’

Carlisle Floyd’s opera “Susannah” may not be as well known as Bizet’s “Carmen” or Verdi’s “Rigoletto,” but it is a strong dramatic piece by a contemporary American composer who has thrived on creating operas with Americana subjects, according to David Scott, opera director at Cal State Northridge.

The opera opens tonight with a 75-member production company drawn from the university’s opera, music and theater programs. The cast has two sets of principal singers to give more opera students a chance to perform the 13 roles, plus a chorus and orchestra. Crews for costume, makeup, scenery and lighting are also responsible for the 10-scene set.

Floyd, the son of a southern Methodist minister, wrote the piece in 1956 while he was a faculty composer and pianist at Florida State University, Scott said. Floyd, who is now composer-in-residence at the University of Houston and active in the Houston Grand Opera, has written about a dozen operas.

“I think ‘Susannah’ is one of his most successful,” Scott said. It made its professional debut with the New York City Opera and has been performed widely by professional companies and university opera programs.

It is the second of two operas presented this year by the CSUN Opera Theatre during its annual two-opera season. The opera is loosely based on the biblical story of Susanna, but Floyd’s opera takes place in the mountains of Tennessee during the 1950s when it was written, Scott said.

The opera tells the story of a young woman who is persecuted because she is a bit different from her conservative rural neighbors. The village elders are scandalized when they come upon her bathing in a creek and begin to ostracize her from the community. When she refuses to confess her sins, the elders send a minister from a traveling revival to her home. Instead of extracting a confession, he seduces her. Her brother learns of the treachery and kills the minister.

“We don’t kill him on stage, but the shot rings out and there’s much talk about it,” Scott said. “It’s a strong dramatic piece with a lot of real emotional incidents.”

The music, with its recurring themes and folk-song quality, also gives the opera immediate audience appeal, Scott said.

“Opera is a big affair when you try to do it well,” said Scott, who is in his 29th year as head of the CSUN opera program. “CSUN opera-goers expect us to do a quality production and they come back year after year.”

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Carlisle Floyd’s opera “Susannah” opens at 8 tonight and continues Saturday, Tuesday, Wednesday and April 10, 11 in the Campus Theater, Cal State Northridge, 18111 Nordhoff St., Northridge. Tickets are $10 general, $8 faculty and staff, and $8 senior citizens on Tuesday and Wednesday; and $6 students. Call (818) 885-3093 weekdays from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. For further information, call the 24-hour events line at (818) 885-3500.