Sarasota Opera has been awarded a $24,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts as part of the federal agency’s “Freedom 250” initiative, celebrating America’s 250th anniversary. The funds will be used to support the company’s 2026 Winter Opera Festival production of “Susannah” by Carlisle Floyd. Interestingly, this year marks the 100th anniversary of Floyd’s birth, and the run {…}
Sarasota Opera is set to present Floyd’s “Susannah“ on March 14. This will be the fourth and final production in its 2026 Winter Festival and will be shown six times through March 28. The opera will star soprano Hanna Brammer in the title role, bass-baritone Jason Zacher as Olin Blitch and tenor Jeremy Brauner as brother Sam. The production will {…}
Patricia Racette is set to direct a new production of Floyd’s “Susannah” at Opera Omaha. Racette is familiar with the work as she performed the opera’s title role at the age of 20 and has directed the opera at the Opera Theatre of Saint Louis. In a statement she said, “Carlisle Floyd’s ‘Susannah’ sits close to my heart. It draws {…}
“Racette, almost continually on stage, commands our attention with seeming effortlessness.” “Racette was the shining center of it all…” “Racette’s impressive depiction of Susannah drew on the very qualities that have made so many of her performances here invaluable over the years…” These are just a few of the many reviews praising internationally renowned soprano Patricia Racette’s turn in the {…}
Tennesse-based Marble City Opera is set to present a site-specific production of Carlisle Floyd’s “Susannah.” The opera will feature David Crawford as Preacher Blitch as well as Kathryn Frady as Susannah, and Joseph McBrayer as Sam Polk. Matthew Haney directs the production and Andy Anderson conducts. The cast is rounded out by Paul Houghtaling, Breyon Ewing, Julie Belanger Roy, Tori Franklin, John Overholt, Maurice Hendricks, Cody Boling, Sabreena Cherrington, {…}
Annapolis Opera is set to present “Susannah,” the final production of its 2019-20 season and also the last for some of the company’s major artistic leaders. The presentations, which are set for March 13 and 15 at Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts, will be the last with Artistic Director Ronald Gretz and Stage Director Braxton Peters at the helm. {…}
Many American composers have tried to create “The Next Great American Opera,” but few have succeeded in doing just that. Carlisle Floyd, born on June 11, 1926, did just that. The composer has quite a number of operas to his name, but none stands the test of time quite like “Susannah.” Floyd grew up in South Carolina, eventually moving to {…}
Two unique DVDs will be hitting the market this week. The first one comes from a very popular contemporary opera while the other comes from the Bel Canto period in a rarely performed opera. A New Susannah Carlisle Floyd’s early masterpiece is ranked as one of the most important opera’s of the 20th century and now Naxos is releasing a new {…}