Gabriella Reyes stars in Carlisle Floyd’s apocryphal Appalachian fable, presented at Lyric Opera of Chicago for the first time since 2002.

In small-town Tennessee, young Susannah’s beauty and gentleness earn her admiration from some — and envy from others. But in this devout community where modesty is tantamount to holiness, rumors of Susannah’s impropriety threaten more than just her humble reputation.

With a taut, visceral libretto sung in English and a score that infuses lush orchestration with flavors of Broadway and American folk music, this modern masterpiece is as raw and gripping today as when it premiered more than five decades ago.