A Song For Susan Smith
Libretto by Mark Campbell
In October 1994, Susan Smith, a woman from Union, South Carolina, claimed that an African-American man had hijacked her car and kidnapped her two sons, Michael and Alex. The country was immediately gripped by the story while an intensive federal search was launched and Ms. Smith went on national television to plead for her sons’ return. Finally, after nine days, Ms. Smith broke down and admitted to a local sheriff that she had drowned her sons after letting the car in which they slept roll into a local lake. A Song for Susan Smith is a chamber opera in 15 scenes (~90 minutes) that explores the psychological and sociological factors that drove this woman to commit filicide and how the act affected her community.
Character List
Susan Smith (Soprano)
David Smith (Baritone)
Bev Russell - Tenor
Linda Smith - Mezzo
Shirley McCloud - Mezzo
Announcer 1 - Soprano
Announcer 2 - Mezzo
Police Artist - Tenor
Interrogator - Baritone
Callers - Chorus (or double cast with above four roles)
**"Commission Note" - The first Scene/Aria of this Opera was originally set for Brittney Redler's Doctoral Recital from Mark Campbell's existing Libretto. After a few workshops of excerpts from the Opera, we are now looking for organizations to present the premier of the full work.
Please reach out to zachredler@gmail.com if interested. :)
“The music was dead on perfect.”
Brittney Redler sings the opening aria from A Song for Susan Smith.
Previous Workshops
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New York University
Brittney Redler premiers the opening aria for her doctoral recital in May 2014.
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Virginia Arts Festival (2014)
The Virginia Arts Festival presents the opening aria with full orchestra in July 2014.
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Fort Worth Opera (2015)
Ft. Worth Opera FRONTIERS festival presents Scene 1 and 3 in May of 2015.
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CU Boulder
CU Boulder presents a workshop of the opera as part of their CU NOW series in June 2015.
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