Susannah (Floyd) - April 2009

Floyd, Susannah, April 2009
Reviews of this production included:
Kate Molleson for Opera Magazine. Read the full review

Edmund Gordon for Buzz. Read the full review

"The best discovery so far of my time as music critic on this newspaper is Hampstead Garden Opera - a small, largely amateur company but assured, competent and ambitious." – Michael White for Ham & High. Read the full review

"The musical tour-de-force in the piece is Susannah's aria, The Trees on the Mountain, which was sung with stunning grace and power by Helen Bailey. [...] Because the drama works and because the music is so vivid and accessible, I'm convinced that Susannah is a great opera to attract new audiences to the genre, and I'm surprised that it's hardly ever been performed here in Britain." – David Karlin for Bachtrack. Read the full review

In a remote mountain village, where lust and religious hypocrisy bubble violently beneath the surface, the innocence of one beautiful young woman is torn apart. This vibrant new production from Hampstead Garden Opera is redolent of the hot Tennessee summer, where secret desires rage, and forgiveness is hard to find.

Carlisle Floyd's 'Susannah' is a true gem of an opera. The depth of human emotion inherent in the music gives it a harsh realism, and tension and tenderness alike are treated with consummate sensitivity by the composer. Floyd fuses a largely open tonal structure with splashes of aggressive harmonic colour, and his referencing of Copland, Vaughan Williams, Puccini, Stravinsky, and even Bach is masterful, never distracting us from his own ever-present voice. This is a work with superb pace and dramatic insight, both of which are tightly bound to a beautifully crafted score.

Music Director: Oliver-John Ruthven

Production Director: Sinéad O’Neill

Orchestra is the Dionysus Ensemble

April 23*, 24*, 25, 30, May 1, 2 @ 7.30pm

Matinees – April 26 and May 3 @ 4.00pm

Roles	Cast A 23, 25 April & 1, 3 May 2009	Cast B 24, 26, 30 April & 2 May 2009
Susannah Polk (soprano)	Claire McKenna	Helen Bailey
Sam Polk, her brother (tenor)	Ben Francis	Nick Whitfield
Olin Blitch,an evangelist (bass-baritone)	Gabriel Gottlieb	Derek Henderson
Little Bat MacLean, (tenor)	Zack Roberts
Elder MacLean, (baritone)	Martin Musgrave
Elder Ott, (baritone)	David Matthews
Elder Hayes, (tenor)	Jake White
Elder Gleaton,(tenor)	Henry Gush
Mrs MacLean, (mezzo-soprano)	Louise Adamson	Jill House
Mrs Ott, (contralto)	Annette Dumville
Mrs Hayes, (soprano)	Anna Whyte
Mrs Gleaton, (soprano)	Anna Kirby

Chorus: People of New Hope Valley	In alphabetical order:
	Kate Hobbins (soprano) Liz Hunt (mezzo) Hannah Mayhew (soprano) Betty Moloney (soprano) Jill Noakes (soprano) Jon Openshaw * (bass) Leticia Perry * (soprano) Emily Phillips (soprano) Heidi Pinder (mezzo) Katy Powis (soprano) Curzon Tussaud (mezzo)
* Cover for Elder Ott, and Mrs Hayes & Mrs Gleaton, respectively

Production Team:
Producer and director	Sinéad O’Neill
Music director	Oliver-John Ruthven
Choreographer	David John
Set designer	Sarah Bacon
Lighting designer	Kevin Treacy
Costumes	Madeleine Millar
Accents coach	Lori Isley Lynn
Répétiteurs	Suzy Ruffles, Maki Yoneta, Nico de Villiers
Orchestra	The Dionysus Ensemble

Watch the audience reactions...

Photographs by Laurent Compagnon - www.laurentcompagnon.com