Chong Wang Monologue

It seems as though jealousy and hypocrisy have been intertwined with parts of the church since it was established. Texas Tech University’s production of Carlisle Floyd’s opera Susannah captures a situation in which a church community makes envious assumptions of an innocent girl and ruin not only her identity but her sense of self. I attended the opera’s opening night on Friday, March 31, 2017, at the Allen Theatre in the Student Union where Chong Wang brilliantly played the part of Susannah. As I waited for the opera to begin, I glanced around the auditorium and noticed a few families, students, and adults from the Lubbock community, so I didn’t know what to expect from the show. The stage set an unassuming atmosphere due to the lack of scenery

Susannah is about how this 1950s Appalachian church is highly hypocritical and corrupt, leading to false accusations by elders and ruinous behavior from the rest of the congregation; the characters of Susannah and Reverend Olin Blitch depict the corrupt dynamic of the church quite accurately through demonstrating the treacherous relationship that turned an innocent girl into a defeated shell of a person. Susannah, played by Chong Wang, started the opera as a joyous, innocent girl who loved to sing and dance. In Act I, scene 2, Susannah sang “Ain’t it a pretty night?” to Little Bat, a song that captures her honest fascination with the beautiful night sky, as well as her desire to spread her wings and adventure beyond the Appalachian

He rapes Susannah, who has given up the good fight for her dignity because he’s lonely. After doing so, he sings “Hear me, O Lord, I beseech thee” to ask for forgiveness once he realizes that Susannah wasn’t lying after all. While singing in his casual attire, he is on a barren stage, save a large cross, with a fiery red background to resemble Hell that reinforces the notion that he is corrupt and evil, along with his church. The piece is in a common meter with a slow march feel, along with a minor key throughout to reflect the reverend’s grievous attitude, utilizing low wind and high string voices. In his song, Blitch executes several crescendos that start with his piano pleas for forgiveness and end with his forte realizations of his wrongs. The growth of the piece revolves around the fluctuating dynamics that follow the same pattern loud-soft pattern and his melodies usually don’t have as wide of a pitch range as Susannah’s, representing the constraints society places on him. Parsley’s voice is a strong and full baritone, one that can command others and persuade others to do as he wishes, which is what he did with Susannah and his church. Parsley handled his difficult role with grace and seemed well-prepared, showing no mistakes and giving the audience a great character to