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Dicapo in the News The Power of Opera, in an Intimate Production If you need to be reminded what a sheer visceral wallop opera can provide, try the Dicapo Opera's new production of Carlisle Floyd's "Susannah." The work has suffered no particular neglect since it appeared in 1955, and it was recently given a fine musical turn in a Virgin Classics recording featuring Cheryl Studer and Samuel Ramey. The little Dicapo Opera cannot, of course, muster any such star power. But the drama can seldom have been better served than it is here. In the company's intimate theatre, the painstakingly detailed stage direction of Michael Capasso, its General Director, and a number of fine individual performances draw the viewer into the action. With powerful concision, "Susannah" tells of a young woman in the rural Tennessee of the mid-1930's who loses her innocence at the hands of an itinerant preacher and her sanity at the hands of the carping, hidebound townsfolk. The score's conservative dissonances carry considerable punch in a basically melodious context, although on Friday evening a shaky orchestral performance, led by Anton Coppola, somewhat undercut that impact. 
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 The singing, too, left room for criticism. Lorraine Goodman, as Susannah Polk, seemed a bit too wild in her upper register even before ferocity crept into her character. And Marc Embree, as the Rev. Olfn Blitch, produced a raw, blunt tone under pressure. Yet little of this detracted from the overall effect. Mr. Embree cut a magnificent figure as the preacher, at once charismatic and dissolute: a genuine tragic hero, albeit on a piddling scale. Ms. Goodman was utterly convincing in her transitions from blithe to disillusioned, from desperate to heartless. And in Mr. Capasso's canny direction, the communal activity supported the main action superbly. How predictable it would have been, and much less effective, if the entire congregation had turned to ogle the outcast Susannah as her belated presence in the rear gradually made itself known; instead, some looked, but most simply stiffened their backs. An audience member could not help being drawn into this community of real people, could not help responding on some level to Blitch any more than Susannah herself could. The generally strong supporting cast includes Jeffrey Ambrosini as Sam Polk and Thomas Roche as Little Bat McLean, "Susannah" is to, be performed on Friday, Saturday and Sunday at the Dicapo Opera Theatre, 184 East 76th Street, and is definitely worth a visit. James R. Oestreich / New York Times April 5, 1995 Copyright 1995, The New York Times Company RETURN TO DICAPO IN THE NEWS
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