Press Kit | Susannah
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Music and libretto by Carlisle Floyd
Conducted by Yves Abel
Directed by Patricia Racette
Eighteen-year-old Susannah Polk lives with her brother Sam in the woods outside a Tennessee mountain town. When local churchmen spot her bathing in an isolated creek, she becomes the target of gossip, accusations, and worse.
Carlisle Floyd transplants the biblical “Susannah and the Elders” to the Appalachian backwoods in this modern classic: a riveting tale of sex, corruption, and hypocrisy with a folk-inspired score and the beloved aria “Ain’t it a pretty night?” Floyd’s centenary is the perfect time to experience the opera Gramophone calls “an important work within modern American opera” and Opera Today dubs the “operatic equivalent of Arthur Miller’s The Crucible.”
Stephen Powell and Scott Quinn with the cast of Rigoletto, San Diego Opera, 2019. Photo by Karli Cadel.
Shelby Condray and Stephen Powell with the cast of Rigoletto, San Diego Opera, 2019. Photo by Karli Cadel.
Hailey Clark
Susannah (Fri & Sun)
“Pure goosebumps! She has that certain something, the magical — you only know that from great divas.”
~ Neues24.com
BIO
San Diego Opera Highlights: Nedda in Pagliacci.
Recent and Upcoming: Mimì in La bohème (Austin Opera); Title role in Die ägyptische Helena (Bard SummerScape); Countess Almaviva in The Marriage Of Figaro (Palm Beach Opera); Violetta Valéry in La traviata (Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra); Nedda in Pagliacci (Austin Opera); Freia in Das Rheingold (Bayreuther Festpiele); Rachel in La juive (Staatsoper Hannover); Fiordiligi in Così fan tutte (Palm Beach Opera); Gerhilde in Die Walküre (Dresdner Philharmonie); Rosalinde in Die Fledermaus (Central City Opera); Alma Beers in Brokeback Mountain (Stadhtheater Giessen).
Teresa Perrotta
Susannah Polk (Sat)
“We were so taken with Teresa Perrotta’s performance that we can think of nothing else.”
~ Voce di Meche
BIO
San Diego Opera Debut.
Recent and Upcoming: Micaëla in Carmen (The Dallas Opera, Cincinnati Opera); Title role in Madama Butterfly (Opera Louisiane); First Lady in The Magic Flute (The Metropolitan Opera); Donna Anna in Don Giovanni (Opera Omaha); Helena in A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Opera Theatre of Saint Louis); Freia in Das Rheingold (Pacific Symphony); Alice Ford in Falstaff (Santa Fe Opera, Maryland Lyric Opera); Mimi in La bohème (The Glimmerglass Festival); Musetta in La bohème (Washington National Opera).
Greer Grimsley
Olin Blitch
“He sings like a god – with a rare combination of power and suavity.”
~ The Huffington Post
BIO
San Diego Opera Highlights: Scarpia in Tosca (2009, 2016 and 2023); Telramund in Lohengrin; Pizarro in Fidelio; The High Priest of Dagon in Samson and Delilah; Méphistophélès in Faust; Jochanaan in Salome; The Pirate King in The Pirates of Penzance.
Recent and Upcoming: Wotan in Siegfried (The Atlanta Opera); Captain Balstrode in Peter Grimes (The Metropolitan Opera); Escamillo in Carmen (The Metropolitan Opera); Jochanaan in Salome (The Metropolitan Opera, Santa Fe Opera, Vancouver Opera, San Francisco Opera); Scarpia in Tosca (The Metropolitan Opera, L’Opera de Montreal, Opera Colorado, Lyric Opera of Kansas City, Glimmerglass Festival, Shreveport Opera); Telramund in Lohengrin (Metropolitan Opera); and Amfortas in Parsifal (The Metropolitan Opera); Wotan in The Ring Cycle (Seattle Opera), Don Pizarro in Fidelio (Opera Company of Philadelphia, Portland Opera, Portuguese National Opera); Kurwenal in Tristan und Isolde (Lyric Opera of Chicago); Title role in The Flying Dutchman (Lithuania Opera, Seattle Opera); Title role in Macbeth (Vancouver Opera); Amonasro in Aida (Portland Opera); Méphistophélès in Faust (New Orleans Opera); Title role in Sweeney Todd (Vancouver Opera).
Joseph Dennis
Sam Polk
“...The tenor Joseph Dennis' voice has formidable strength.”
~ Maryland Theatre Guide
BIO
San Diego Opera Debut.
Recent and Upcoming: Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly (Opera Colorado, Austin Opera, Opera San Antonio, Israeli Opera); Erik in The Flying Dutchman (Des Moines Metro Opera); Boris in Katya Kabanova (Seattle Opera); Alfredo in La traviata (Memphis Opera, Israeli Opera); the Duke in Rigoletto (North Carolina Opera); Edgardo in Lucia di Lammermoor (Virginia Opera); Tamino in The Magic Flute (Central City Opera).
Christian Sanders
Little Bat McLean
“A lithe, gleaming tenor and a hugely winning stage presence.”
~ Opera Today
BIO
San Diego Opera debut.
Recent and Upcoming: Orfeo in Orfeo ed Euridice (Pacific Opera Victoria); Little Bat in Susannah (Opera Omaha, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis); Delbert Grady and Stuart Ullman in The Shining (Utah Opera); Sellem in The Rake’s Progress (Des Moines Metro Opera); Loge in Das Rheingold (Dayton Opera); Flute in A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Opera Theatre of Saint Louis); Philip Hirschkop in Loving V. Virginia (Virginia Opera); Snake in The Little Prince (Pacific Opera Victoria); Tobias Ragg in Sweeney Todd (Utah Opera, Dayton Opera, Austin Opera); Sam Kaplan in Street Scene (Central City Opera); Rodolfo in La bohème (Minnesota Opera); Alfred in Die Fledermaus (Pensacola Opera, Sacramento Philharmonic & Opera).
Luretta Bybee
Mrs. McLean
“Bybee manages to convey love and jealousy with complete believability.”
~ The Tennessean
BIO
San Diego Opera Highlights: Ruth in The Pirates of Penzance; Mrs. Sedley in Peter Grimes; Praskowia/Dodo in The Merry Widow.
Recent and Upcoming: Old Lady/Blair Daniels in Sunday in the Park with George (Glimmerglass Festival); Mary in The Flying Dutchman (Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, The Dallas Opera, Seattle Opera); Emilia in Otello (Pacific Symphony); Maria in Man of La Mancha (Shreveport Opera); Golde in Fiddler on the Roof (Shreveport Opera); Mrs. Lovett in Sweeney Todd (New Orleans Opera, Glimmerglass Festival, Vancouver Opera).
Richard Paul Fink
Elder McLean
“Craig Colclough was vivid as Monterone, expressing some of the most intense passion of the evening in his appearances. His energy punched up the entire opera.”
~New York Classical Review
BIO
San Diego Opera Highlights: Title role in Nabucco; Escamillo in Carmen; Captain/Zaretski in Eugene Onegin; Pritschitsch in The Merry Widow.
Recent and Upcoming: Carlo Gerard in Andrea Chénier (Seattle Opera); Count Waldner in Arabella (San Francisco Opera); Alberich in Das Rheingold (Arizona Opera, Houston Grand Opera); High Priest of Dagon in Samson et Dalila (The Dallas Opera); Vodnik in Rusalka (Arizona Opera, Houston Grand Opera); Jochanaan in Salome (Cape Town Opera); Jack Rance in La fanciulla del West (Indianapolis Opera); Henry Kissinger in Nixon in China (Metropolitan Opera)..
Joel Sorensen
Elder Hayes
“Craig Colclough was vivid as Monterone, expressing some of the most intense passion of the evening in his appearances. His energy punched up the entire opera.”
~New York Classical Review
BIO
San Diego Opera highlights: Remendado in Carmen, First Jew in Salome; Curley in Of Mice and Men; Camp Williams in Cold Sassy Tree; Andres in Wozzeck; Rodriguez in Don Quixote; Tybalt in Roméo et Juliette; Pang in Turandot; Valzacchi in Der Rosenkavalier; First Tempter/First Knight in Murder in the Cathedral; Beppe in Pagliacci; Spoletta in Tosca; Dr. Caius in Falstaff; Pong in Turandot; Witch in Hansel and Gretel; Spoletta in Tosca; Goro in Madama Butterfly.
Recent and Upcoming: Spoletta in Tosca (San Francisco Opera and Opera San Antonio); Goro in Madama Butterfly (Nashville Opera and Cedar Rapids Opera Theatre); Beppe in Pagliacci (Greensboro Opera); Bomeliy in The Tsar’s Bride (Bard Music Festival); Spoletta in Tosca (Canadian Opera Company); Pong in Turandot, The Incredible in Andrea Chénier, Vitek in Věc Makropulos (San Francisco Opera); Madama Butterfly, Tosca, Samson et Dalila, Die Zauberflöte, War and Peace, Der Rosenkavalier, Salome, and Les contes d’Hoffmann (The Metropolitan Opera).
Benjamin Werley
Elder Gleaton
“Craig Colclough was vivid as Monterone, expressing some of the most intense passion of the evening in his appearances. His energy punched up the entire opera.”
~New York Classical Review
BIO
San Diego Opera Highlights: Narraboth in Salome.
Recent and Upcoming: Chevalier des Grieux in Manon Lescaut (Opera Festival of Chicago); Tenor in Puccini Forever Concert (Opera Festival of Chicago); Sir Edgar of Ravenswood in Lucia di Lammermoor (St. Pete Opera, New Jersey Festival Orchestra); Prince in Rusalka (Opera Ithaca); Fenton in Falstaff (Salt Marsh Opera); Ruggero in La Rondine (The Southern Illinois Music Festival); Title role in Ernani in Concert (The Southern Illinois Music Festival); Don José in Carmen (Anchorage Opera); King Kaspar in Amahl and the Night Visitors (Cleveland Opera Theater).
MORE CAST »
Joseph Calzada
Fiorello
Joseph Calzada
Fiorello
San Diego Opera debut.
Recent and Upcoming: Doctor Grenville in La traviata (Opera San José); Morales in Carmen (Gulfshore Opera); Masetto in Don Giovanni (Livermore Valley Opera); 2nd Armoured Man in The Magic Flute (Opera San José); Don Alfonso in Così fan tutte (SFCM Opera Theatre); British Major in Silent Night (Wolf Trap Opera); Title Role in Gianni Schicchi (SFCM Opera Theatre); Barone Douphol in La traviata (Festival Opera); Zoroastro in Orlando (SFCM Historical Performance); Belcore in The Elixir of Love (Greek Opera Studio); Fiorello in The Barber of Seville (IU Opera Theater).
Phil Johnson
Ambrogio
Phil Johnson
Ambrogio
San Diego Opera debut.
Recent and Upcoming: Artistic Director and founder of The Roustabouts Theatre Co., directing Master Class, True West, Looped, Hand to God, and Savoyard Murders. He’s acted at most San Diego theaters and in numerous original solo shows and ensemble roles in Les Misérables on Broadway and tour; Canadian production of Sunset Boulevard; and 1st National Co. of Miss Saigon.
Yves Abel
Conductor
"Things get better through time, especially when accompanied by Yves Abel’s consistently exceptional blend of orchestral parlance."
~Times of San Diego
BIO
Yves Abel
Conductor
San Diego Opera Highlights: San Diego Opera Principal Conductor, 2020-present. Conductor – The Daughter of the Regiment; Pagliacci; Madama Butterfly; Carmen; Roméo et Juliette; Suor Angelica and Gianni Schicchi; Don Giovanni; Salome; La traviata, The Barber of Seville.
Recent and Upcoming: Chief Conductor – Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie, 2005 to 2021; Principal Guest Conductor – Deutsche Oper Berlin, 2005 to 2013; Conductor – Carmen (Royal Sweden Opera, Wiener Staatsoper); Mahler’s Symphony No. 5 (Opéra Nice Côte d’Azur); Roméo et Juliette (Canadian Opera Company); Turandot (Savonlinna Opera Festival); Dialogues des Carmélites (Teatro Regio Turin); La Damnation de Faust (Opernhaus Zürich); La fille du régiment (London’s Royal Opera Covent Garden); Armida (Rossini Opera Festival).
Christopher Mattaliano
Director
"There was much to admire in Christopher Mattaliano’s staging, especially in how effectively he used minimal sets and props."
~Parterre Box on Pagliacci
BIO
Christopher Mattaliano
Director
San Diego Highlights: Director for Pagliacci.
Recent and upcoming: Stage Director – La bohème (Yale School of Music); Il trovatore (Opera Colorado); Tosca (New Orleans Opera); Anna Bolena (The Academy of Vocal Arts); The Barber of Seville (Cincinnati Opera, The Dallas Opera, Portland Opera, Michigan Opera Theatre); Rigoletto (Opera Colorado, Portland Opera); Pagliacci (Portland Opera); The Magic Flute (Washington National Opera, Portland Opera); Cinderella (Portland Opera); Candide (Arizona Opera); Macbeth (New Orleans Opera); Falstaff (Portland Opera).
Scenic Design
Tim Wallace
Lighting Design
Jason Bieber
Costume Design
Mathew LeFebvre
Hair and Makeup Design
Peter Herman
Resident Conductor/Chorus Master
Bruce Stasyna
Assistant Director
Nicolas Garcia
Costume Director
Christine Joly de Lotbiniere
Intimacy Director
Sierra Pia
Fight Director
Ben Cole
Diction Coach
Emanuela Patroncini
Stage Manager
Peter Nictakis
Supertitle Caller
Abigail Allwein
Assistant Stage Managers
Laurel McIntyre
Emily Holter
Musical Preparation
Bruce Stasyna
Production Assistant
Lia Bernhardi
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