- Carlisle Floyd
Carlisle Floyd (born
June 11 ,1926 , inLatta, South Carolina ) is an Americanopera composer . The son of a Methodist minister, he based many of his works on themes from the South. His best known opera, "Susannah " (1955), is based a story in the so-calledApocrypha , transferred to contemporary, rural Tennessee, and is set in a Southern dialect.Career
In 1943, Floyd entered
Converse College , in Spartanburg, South Carolina, and studiedpiano underErnst Bacon . When Bacon accepted a position atSyracuse University , in New York, Floyd followed him there, where he received a Bachelor of Music in 1946. The following year, Floyd became part of the piano faculty atFlorida State University , in Tallahassee. He was to remain there for thirty years, eventually becoming Professor of Composition. He received a master's degree at Syracuse, in 1949.While at Florida State, Floyd gradually became interested in composition. His first opera was "Slow Dusk", to his own libretto (as was to remain his custom), and was produced at Syracuse in 1949. His next opera, "The Fugitives", was seen at Tallahassee in 1951, but was then withdrawn.
His third opera was to be Floyd's greatest success: "
Susannah ". It was first heard at Florida State, in February 1955, withPhyllis Curtin in the title role, and Mack Harrell as the Reverend Olin Blitch. The following year, the opera was given at theNew York City Opera , with Curtin andNorman Treigle (in his first great success) as Blitch, withErich Leinsdorf conducting. After receiving much acclaim, a City Opera production (directed byFrank Corsaro ) was taken to the 1958 World's Fair in Brussels, with Curtin, Treigle andRichard Cassilly .Later in 1958, Floyd's setting of "Wuthering Heights" (after
Emily Brontë ) was premiered at theSanta Fe Opera , with Curtin as the heroine. In 1960, at Syracuse, his "solo cantata on biblical texts," "Pilgrimage", was first heard with Treigle as soloist. "The Passion of Jonathan Wade" was first seen at the City Opera, in 1962. Set in South Carolina during Reconstruction, the piece hadTheodor Uppman , Curtin, Treigle andHarry Theyard in the large cast;Julius Rudel conducted.Floyd's next opera was "The Sojourner and Mollie Sinclair", which was a comedy regarding the Scottish settlers of the Carolinas.
Patricia Neway and Treigle created the title roles, with Rudel conducting. The composer's "Markheim" (afterRobert Lewis 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."Of Mice and Men" (after
John Steinbeck ), following a long gestation, was heard at theSeattle Opera in 1970, in a staging by Corsaro. A monodrama on the royal subject ofEleanor of Aquitaine , "Flower and Hawk", was premiered in Jacksonville, Florida, with Curtin directed by Corsaro. (The production was then seen atCarnegie Hall .)"Bilby's Doll" (after
Esther Forbes ) was first mounted at theHouston Grand Opera in 1976, withChristopher Keene conducting andDavid Pountney producing. In 1976, Floyd co-founded, with David Gockley, the Houston Opera Studio, a training program administered by the Houston Grand Opera for outstanding young professional singers and repertory coaches. Between 1976 and 1996, he held the M.D. Anderson Professorship at the University of Houston School of Music.In Houston, "
Willie Stark " (afterRobert Penn Warren ) was also first heard, in 1981, in staging byHarold Prince . After an hiatus of almost twenty years, Floyd's latest opera was premiered in Houston: "Cold Sassy Tree" (afterOlive Ann Burns ), in 2000. Patrick Summers conducted,Bruce Beresford directed, andPatricia Racette led the cast.Major works
*"
Slow Dusk " (1949)
*"Susannah " (1955)
*"Wuthering Heights" (1958)
*"The Passion of Jonathan Wade " (1962)
*"The Sojourner and Mollie Sinclair " (1963)
*"Markheim" (1966)
*"Of Mice and Men" (1970)
*"Flower and Hawk " (1972)
*"Bilby's Doll " (1976)
*"Willie Stark " (1981)
*"Cold Sassy Tree" (2000)Awards and nominations
*1956
Guggenheim Fellowship
*1957 Citation of Merit from theNational Association of American Conductors and Composers
*1959 Ten Outstanding Young Men of the Nation Award from theU.S. Junior Chamber of Commerce
*1964Distinguished Professor ofFlorida State University Award
*1972 Resolution of Appreciation by theState of Florida Legislature
*1983 Honory Doctorate fromDickinson College
*1983 National Opera Institute's Award for Service to American Opera - the highest honor the institute bestows
*2001 Inducted into theAmerican Academy of Arts and Letters
*2004National Medal of Arts from theWhite House [cite web|url=http://www.boosey.com/pages/cr/composer/composer_main.asp?composerid=2810&ttype=BIOGRAPHY&ttitle=Biography |title=Carlisle Floyd Biography|publisher=Boosey & Hawkes, Inc.|accessdate=2008-08-13]Discography
* "Susannah" (Studer, Hadley, Ramey; Nagano, 1993-94) Virgin Classics
* "Susannah" (Curtin, Cassilly, Treigle; Andersson, 1962) [live] VAI
* "Pilgrimage": excerpts (Treigle; Torkanowsky, 1971) Orion
* "The Sojourner and Mollie Sinclair" (Neway, Treigle; Rudel, 1963) VAI
* "Markheim" (Schuh, Treigle; Andersson, 1966) [live] VAI
* "Of Mice and Men" (Futral, Griffey, Hawkins; Summers, 2002) [live] Albany Records
* "Cold Sassy Tree" (Racette; Summers, 2000) [live] Albany Records
* "Willie Stark" (Jesse, Drake, Holcomb: 2007) [live] LSU Opera DVDVideography
* "Susannah": Revival Scene (Treigle; Yestadt, Treigle, 1958) [live] Bel Canto Society
References
* "Carlisle Floyd's Operatic Southland," liner notes by Brian Morgan, "The Sojourner and Mollie Sinclair", VAI, 1999.
External links
* [http://www.usoperaweb.com/2002/september/floyd.htm Operas we would like to see again]
* [http://www.uh.edu/collegium/collegiumxtra/ Opera's southern gentleman]
* [http://www.boosey.com/pages/cr/composer/composer_main.asp?composerid=2810&ttype=SNAPSHOT&ttitle=Snapshot Carlisle Floyd @ Boosey & Hawkes]
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.