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Fisher Center LAB Civis Hope Commision

Suddenly Last Summer

July 13, 2026

In the hands of avant garde director Daniel Fish, the world premiere of Courtney Bryan’s first opera "Suddenly Last Summer" derived from the one-act play by Tennessee Williams is more a performance piece than anything else. In the libretto created by artistic director Gideon Lester and Fish, only the role of Catherine Holly is sung while all the rest are spoken. Catherine does not have any sustained music until the last 23 minutes of the opera which are almost entirely hers. However, as staged at the LUMA Theater of the Fisher Center at Bard College you are most likely to remember the visual aspect of the production which overpowers the musical portions. [more]