A Scholar Under Siege

In Braz's libretto, Averitt is reimagined as the leader of the student movement that resulted in the restoration of Marvin Pittman to his post as university president.

[5] The principal roles were sung by: The cast also included: Daniel Scofield (Dr. Alois Hundhammer), John Marshall (Jurt Feyer), Megan Otte (Mae Michael), Violet Martin (Maime Veazey), Shawn Tupper (Ernest Cannon), John Bressler (Dr. R. J. H. DeLoach), Cyril Durant (Tommie Banks), Daniel Scofield (Sandy Beaver), Japheth Parker (Ormonde Hunter), Mark Diamond (Ellis Arnall), John Marshall (James Peters), Zac Case (Joe Ben Jackson), Sara Teate (Mrs. Sylla Hamilton), Liz Zettler (Hester Newton), Leo Parrish (Dr. Steadman V.

Jim Galloway in the Atlanta Journal Constitution described Braz as using "a bluesy, flat-noted tune to suggest the rather corrupt insider nature of Georgia’s state politics in the 1940s.

"[6] A Scholar Under Siege received considerable media attention probably because it encapsules a race struggle from which the southern United States are still recovering today.

In an Associated Press article about A Scholar Under Siege, Russ Bynum wrote, "Talmadge's defeat proved Georgia voters had limits to how far they would go to defend racial inequality.

"[2] Braz said in an interview with the Savannah Morning News that political thinkers were noticing his opera because they saw parallels between the administrations of Eugene Talmadge and George W.

"[7] That his opera would be viewed as a political allegory pointing to the theater of current events was not an outcome that Braz specifically sought, he said in an interview for Eyrie, a Georgia Southern University internal publication, but he conceded that he did hate bullying, adding, "If it’s not stood up to, we’re saying it’s okay.