Susan B. Returns to Hudson . . . After 123 Years

The Mother of Us All, the opera about Susan B. Anthony directed by Hudson's own R. B. Schlather, opened at Hudson Hall on Saturday, November 11. On Saturday, too, a review by Russell Platt appeared in The New Yorker: "Virgil Thomson and Gertrude Stein's "The Mother of Us All" Is Avant-Garde Opera for the People." Platt concludes his review by saying, "Surely Schlather’s production, which is already sold out, could float down the river to the big city."

Gossips was there on opening night and was wowed. I can think of no better word to express the experience. I've heard that Sunday night's performance was even more powerful. The Mother of Us All is a major achievement for the newly renovated and reopened performance space at the historic Hudson Opera House and a major achievement for Hudson. 

A note of explanation about the title of this post: Susan B. Anthony came to Hudson three times to speak on the subject of woman suffrage at City Hall, the same building we know as the Hudson Opera House and Hudson Hall. Her first appearance was in April 1855, the first year the building was open. She returned in August 1859 and again in March 1894.

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