'Susannah' Offered as Fully Staged Concert Opera

Suzanne Rorick, center, executive director of the Toledo Opera, tells the
Toledo Opera Guild that a survey will be conducted with 'Susannah.'

One of the factors that is enabling the Toledo Opera to present three full operas this season is that "Susannah" is being done in a concert fashion with digitally projected scenery.

Conductor Bob Mirakian promises it will be an amazing experience, in part because of the intimacy of the staging.

"Everything is happening within 15 feet of the audience," he said at a recent Toledo Opera Guild luncheon.

Mirakian will be on stage as well, in front of the Toledo Symphony Orchestra and behind the actors. Toledo Opera executive director Suzanne Rorick said that to be able to conduct both the musicians and the singers this way, he knows the score so well that it is in his very being.

"It's not a small thing," she said.

The conductor shared the credit with stage director Sean Cooper for pulling real emotions out of the actors.

"We have a wonderful cast," Mirakian said, noting that Cooper and his wife, Jennifer Goode Cooper who plays Susannah, are local stars and opera scholars.

Carlisle Floyd's "Susannah," often referenced as the best American opera yet, will be presented in full length with all of the scenes acted out, and the pacing will be "very tight dramatically" because there are no large set changes, Mirakian said. The running time is about 110 minutes.

Rorick said this type of "fully staged concert opera" is not only an enjoyable experience but an economical one as well. She said it is still twice as expensive to produce as a gala performance might be but that it is only a third of the cost of a traditionally fully staged opera.

The Toledo Opera will be conducting a survey after "Susannah" to gain feedback on the concert staging and other efforts by the organization.

"We want to know what the audience thinks," Rorick said.

Tickets are going fast for "Susannah," which will be presented at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 13 and 2 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 15. Purchase tickets online or call the Toledo Opera box office at 419-255-7464.