Carlisle Floyd | |
|---|---|
 Carlisle Floyd withNational Medal of Artsin 2004 | |
| Born | (1926-06-11)June 11, 1926 Latta, South Carolina, U.S. |
| Died | September 30, 2021(2021-09-30) (aged 95) Tallahassee, Florida, U.S. |
| Education | |
| Known for | Operas Susannah |
| Notable work | List of compositions |
| Awards | National Medal of Arts Full list |
Carlisle Sessions Floyd (June 11, 1926 – September 30, 2021) was an American composer primarily known for hisoperas. These stage works, for which he wrote not only the music but also thelibrettos, typically engage with themes from theAmerican South, particularly thePost-civil war South, theGreat Depression andrural life. His best known opera,Susannah, is based on a story from the BiblicalApocrypha, transferred to contemporary ruralTennessee, and written for aSouthern dialect. It was premiered at Florida State University in 1955, withPhyllis Curtin in the title role. When it was staged at theNew York City Opera the following year, the reception was initially mixed; some considered it a masterpiece, while others degraded it as a 'folk opera'. Subsequent performances led to an increase inSusannah's reputation and the opera quickly became among the most performed of American operas.
In 1976, he became M. D. Anderson professor at theUniversity of Houston. He co-founded the Houston Opera Studio for the training of young singers. Floyd is regarded as the "Father of American opera".[1]
Floyd was born inLatta, South Carolina, on June 11, 1926, to Carlisle and Ida (née Fenegan) Floyd.[2][3] His father was his namesake and aMethodist minister at the local church;[4] on both sides his family was descended from among the first European immigrants to theCarolinas.[5] He had a sister, Ermine, along with a sizable extended family.[6] Being raised in theSouthern United States, Floyd would have been well aquatinted with typicalSouthern ideals of the time, such asSouthern hospitality, extra cautionto avoid offending others,Protestantism and a general disliking towards theNortherners.[7] Also prominent in his Southern upbringing wererevival meetings, and the "small-townbigotry," which later influenced his work.[8][n 1] Though the family was not familiar withcontemporary classical music,[9] Floyd's mother enjoyed music and poetry, often hosting familyhymn singing events.[10] She also gave Floyd his first piano lessons.[11] Floyd attended North High School in North Carolina.[12]
Though American involvement inWorld War II had begun in 1941, Floyd'sasthma prevented hisconscription.[13] He attendedConverse College ofSpartanburg, South Carolina, in 1944, studying piano with composerErnst Bacon.[3] In 1945 Bacon left Converse to become director of the music school atSyracuse University, New York,[3] a considerably moremulticultural institution.[13] Floyd followed Bacon to Syracuse and received aBachelor of Music in 1946.[3] The following year, Floyd became part of the piano faculty atFlorida State University inTallahassee.[11] He stayed there for thirty years, eventually becoming Professor of Composition. He received a master's degree at Syracuse in 1949.[5]
While at FSU, Floyd gradually became interested in composition. His first opera wasSlow Dusk to his own libretto, and was produced at Syracuse in 1949. His next opera,The Fugitives, was seen at Tallahassee in 1951 but was withdrawn.[5]
Floyd's third opera was his greatest success:Susannah. It was premiered at Florida State at the Ruby Diamond Auditorium[11] in February 1955, withPhyllis Curtin in the title role andMack Harrell as the Reverend Olin Blitch. The following year, the opera was given at theNew York City Opera, winning him international recognition.[1]Erich Leinsdorf conducted, with Curtin andNorman Treigle as Blitch. The opera received the New York Music Critics' Circle Award.[1] It was selected to be America's official operatic entry at the1958 World's Fair in Brussels,[1][11] directed byFrank Corsaro, with Curtin, Treigle andRichard Cassilly.[11]
Later in 1958, Floyd'sWuthering Heights (afterEmily Brontë) premiered at theSanta Fe Opera, with Curtin as the heroine.[1] In 1960, at Syracuse, his solo cantata on biblical texts,Pilgrimage, was first heard with Treigle as soloist.The Passion of Jonathan Wade, commissioned by theFord Foundation, was Floyd's most epic opera, set in South Carolina during theReconstruction era.[14] It was premiered at theNew York City Opera on October 11, 1962.Theodor Uppman, Curtin, Treigle andHarry Theyard performed in a large cast, conducted byJulius Rudel and directed byAllen Fletcher.[15] Floyd revised it in 1989 for performances at four major opera houses in the U.S., beginning at Houston Grand Opera.[14][15]
Floyd's next opera wasThe Sojourner and Mollie Sinclair, which was a comedy around Scottish settlers of the Carolinas.Patricia Neway and Treigle created the title roles with Rudel conducting.[16] The operaMarkheim (afterRobert Louis Stevenson) was first shown at theNew Orleans Opera Association in 1966, with Treigle (to whom it was dedicated) andAudrey Schuh heading the cast. Floyd himself served as stage director.[17]
The operaOf Mice and Men (afterJohn Steinbeck) was commissioned by theFord Foundation. After a long gestation period, it was premiered at theSeattle Opera in 1970, directed by Corsaro.[1] A monodrama on the royal subject ofEleanor of Aquitaine,Flower and Hawk, premiered inJacksonville, Florida, with Curtin directed by Corsaro. The production was also presented atCarnegie Hall.[18]
Bilby's Doll (afterEsther Forbes) was commissioned by the Houston Grand Opera where it was premiered in 1976 withChristopher Keene conducting andDavid Pountney directing.[1] Floyd composedWillie Stark (afterRobert Penn Warren) also for Houston, where it was first heard in 1981 in a staging byHarold Prince.[1] After a hiatus of almost twenty years, another Floyd opera premiered in Houston in 2000,Cold Sassy Tree (afterOlive Ann Burns).[1] Patrick Summers conducted,Bruce Beresford directed, andPatricia Racette led the cast.[2] It was subsequently produced by several American opera houses.[1]
In 1976, he became M. D. Anderson professor at theUniversity of Houston. There, he co-founded the Houston Opera Studio, together with David Gockley, as an institution of the University of Houston andHouston Grand Opera,[1] with students includingMichael Ching andCraig Bohmler.[19][20]
After retirement from the university in Houston in 1996, Floyd lived in Tallahassee again.[11] He had composed a Piano Sonata in the 1950s (1957, two years afterSusannah) forRudolf Firkušný, who played it at aCarnegie Hall recital, but it languished untilDaniell Revenaugh recorded it in 2009 at the age of 74. Revenaugh worked with the composer in learning the piece (Floyd himself had never learned it), and their rehearsal sessions and the live recording itself were filmed for posterity. The recording was made on theAlma-Tadema Steinway that graced theWhite House during the presidencies ofTheodore Roosevelt andWoodrow Wilson.[21]
The Houston Grand Opera produced a new opera by Floyd on March 5, 2016,Prince of Players, a chamber opera about the 17th-century actor,Edward Kynaston, conducted by Summers. A live recording of the premiere was nominated for aGrammy Award.[1]
Floyd died on September 30, 2021, in Tallahassee, at the age of 95.[2][22] He had no children, but was survived by four nieces, the daughters of Ermine.[11] His publisherBoosey and Hawkes, announced his death and did not relay the cause.[2]
Floyd is primarily known for his operas, which make up the bulk of his compositional output.[3] LikeWagner andMenotti, Floyd wrote thelibrettos to his operas.[5] His best-known opera,[3]Susannah, is regarded as hismagnum opus.[11] TheNational Public Radio's Tom Huizenga posits the work as suitable contender to be considered the archetypal "Great American Opera".[2][n 2] Patricia Racette declared that "If it is not the greatest American opera, it's certainly among the great American operas".[2] According toOpera News,Susannah is the most frequently performed American opera after Gershwin'sPorgy and Bess and Menotti'sAmahl and the Night Visitors.[11]The Daily Telegraph, however, claimed it is the most "widely performed" American opera, purportedly outnumbering some works byMozart,Verdi andPuccini.[13] In addition toGershwin andMenotti, Floyd stands withAdams,Barber,Bernstein,Glass andRorem in the pantheon of preeminent 20th-century American opera composers.[3]
Floyd's compositions were published byBoosey and Hawkes.[n 3]
| Title | Year | Genre | Subject |
|---|---|---|---|
Works for stage[edit] | |||
| Slow Dusk | 1949 | Musical play 1 act | – |
| The Fugitives | 1951 (unfinished) | Unfinished stage work | – |
| Susannah | 1955 | Musical drama 2 acts | Susanna and the Elders |
| Wuthering Heights | 1958 rev. 1959 | Musical drama 3 acts (& prologue) | Wuthering Heights byEmily Brontë |
| The Passion of Jonathan Wade | 1962 rev. 1991 | Opera 3 acts | – |
| The Sojourner and Mollie Sinclair | 1963 | Comic opera 1 act | – |
| Markheim | 1966 | Opera 1 act | "Markheim" byRobert Louis Stevenson |
| Of Mice and Men | 1970 | Musical drama 3 acts | Of Mice and Men byJohn Steinbeck |
| Flower and Hawk | 1972 | Monodrama 1 act | – |
| Bilby's Doll | 1976 | Opera 3 acts | A Mirror for Witches byEsther Forbes |
| Willie Stark | 1981 | Opera 3 acts | All the King's Men byRobert Penn Warren |
| Cold Sassy Tree | 2000 | Comic opera 3 acts | Cold Sassy Tree byOlive Ann Burns |
| Prince of Players[25] | 2016 | Opera 2 acts | Fictional portrayal ofEdward Kynaston's life |
Other works[edit] | |||
| Pilgrimage | 1956 | Song cycle Baritone and orchestra | Various biblical texts |
| Piano Sonata | 1957 | Solo piano | – |
| The Mystery | 1960 | Song cycle Soprano and orchestra | Text byGabriela Mistral |
| Introduction, Aria, and Dance | 1967 | Orchestral | – |
| In Celebration | 1971 | Orchestral | – |
| Citizen of Paradise | 1983 | Song cycle Mezzo-soprano and piano | Text byEmily Dickinson |
| Flourishes | 1987 | Orchestral Fanfare | – |
| A Time to Dance | 1994 | Orchestral Baritone, chorus and orchestra | – |
| Soul of Heaven | 1995 | Song cycle Voice and piano | Text by various authors |
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