Carlisle Sessions Floyd (June 11, 1926September 30, 2021) was an American composer primarily known for his operas. These stage works, for which he wrote not only the music but also the librettos, typically engage with themes from the American South, particularly the Post-civil war South, the Great Depression and rural life. His best known opera, Susannah, is based on a story from the Biblical Apocrypha, transferred to contemporary rural Tennessee, and written for a Southern dialect. It was premiered at Florida State University in 1955, with Phyllis Curtin in the title role. When it was staged at the New 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 in Susannah<nowiki>'</nowiki>s reputation and the opera quickly became among the most performed of American operas.

In 1976, he became M. D. Anderson professor at the University of Houston. He co-founded the Houston Opera Studio for the training of young singers. Floyd is regarded as the "Father of American opera".

Life and career

Youth and education

Floyd was born in Latta, South Carolina, on June 11, 1926, to Carlisle and Ida (née Fenegan) Floyd. His father was his namesake and a Methodist minister at the local church; on both sides his family was descended from among the first European immigrants to the Carolinas. Patricia Racette declared that "If it is not the greatest American opera, it's certainly among the great American operas". In addition to Gershwin and Menotti, Floyd stands with Adams, Barber, Bernstein, Glass and Rorem in the pantheon of preeminent 20th-century American opera composers.

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! scope="col" | Title

! scope="col" | Year

! scope="col" | Genre

! scope="col" class="unsortable" | Subject

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| colspan="4" style="background-color: #D8D8D8" data-sort-value="ZZZZ1A" |

Works for stage

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| Slow Dusk

| 1949

| data-sort-value="ZZZZ1B" | Musical play<br/>1 act

| style="text-align:center;" | –

|-

| data-sort-value="Fugitives" | The Fugitives

| 1951<br><small>(unfinished)</small>

| data-sort-value="ZZZZ1B" | Unfinished stage work

| style="text-align:center;" | –

|-

| Susannah

| 1955

| data-sort-value="ZZZZ1B" | Musical drama<br/>2 acts

| Susanna and the Elders

|-

| Wuthering Heights

| 1958<br/> 1959

| data-sort-value="ZZZZ1B" | Musical drama<br/>3 acts (& prologue)

| Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë

|-

| data-sort-value="Passion" | The Passion of Jonathan Wade

| 1962<br/> 1991

| data-sort-value="ZZZZ1B" | Opera<br/>3 acts

| style="text-align:center;" | –

|-

| data-sort-value="Sojourner" | The Sojourner and Mollie Sinclair

| 1963

| data-sort-value="ZZZZ1B" | Comic opera<br/>1 act

| style="text-align:center;" | –

|-

| Markheim

| 1966

| data-sort-value="ZZZZ1B" | Opera<br/>1 act

| "Markheim" by Robert Louis Stevenson

|-

| Of Mice and Men

| 1970

| data-sort-value="ZZZZ1B" | Musical drama<br/>3 acts

| Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck

|-

| Flower and Hawk

| 1972

| data-sort-value="ZZZZ1B" | Monodrama<br/>1 act

| style="text-align:center;" | –

|-

| Bilby's Doll

| 1976

| data-sort-value="ZZZZ1B" | Opera<br/>3 acts

| A Mirror for Witches by Esther Forbes

|-

| Willie Stark

| 1981

| data-sort-value="ZZZZ1B" | Opera<br/>3 acts

| All the King's Men by Robert Penn Warren

|-

| Cold Sassy Tree

| 2000

| data-sort-value="ZZZZ1B" | Comic opera<br/>3 acts

| Cold Sassy Tree by Olive Ann Burns

|-

| Prince of Players

| 2016

| data-sort-value="ZZZZ1B" | Opera<br/>2 acts

| Fictional portrayal of Edward Kynaston's life

|-

| colspan="4" style="background-color: #D8D8D8" data-sort-value="ZZZZ2A" |

Other works

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| Pilgrimage

| 1956

| data-sort-value="ZZZZ2B" | Song cycle<br/><small>Baritone and orchestra</small>

| Various biblical texts

|-

| Piano Sonata

| 1957

| data-sort-value="ZZZZ2B" | Solo piano

| style="text-align:center;" | –

|-

| data-sort-value="Mystery" | The Mystery

| 1960

| data-sort-value="ZZZZ2B" | Song cycle<br/><small>Soprano and orchestra</small>

| Text by Gabriela Mistral

|-

| Introduction, Aria, and Dance

| 1967

| data-sort-value="ZZZZ2B" | Orchestral

| style="text-align:center;" | –

|-

| In Celebration

| 1971

| data-sort-value="ZZZZ2B" | Orchestral

| style="text-align:center;" | –

|-

| Citizen of Paradise

| 1983

| data-sort-value="ZZZZ2B" | Song cycle<br/><small>Mezzo-soprano and piano</small>

| Text by Emily Dickinson

|-

| Flourishes

| 1987

| data-sort-value="ZZZZ2B" | Orchestral<br/><small>Fanfare</small>

| style="text-align:center;" | –

|-

| A Time to Dance

| 1994

| data-sort-value="ZZZZ2B" | Orchestral<br/><small>Baritone, chorus and orchestra</small>

| style="text-align:center;" | –

|-

| Soul of Heaven

| 1995

| data-sort-value="ZZZZ2B" | Song cycle<br/><small>Voice and piano</small>

| Text by various authors

|}

Awards and honors

thumb|[[George W. Bush and Laura Bush present the National Medal of Arts, 2004]]

  • 1956 Guggenheim Fellowship
  • 1964 Distinguished Professor of Florida State University Award
  • 1983 Honorary degree from Dickinson College
  • 1983 National Opera Institute's Award for Service to American Opera – the highest honor the institute bestows
  • 2001 Inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Letters
  • 2008 National Endowment for the Arts Opera Honoree for lifetime work
  • 2012 Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia Man of Music – the highest honor for a member of the American music fraternity.

References

Notes

Citations

Sources

Further reading

  • Operas we would like to see again
  • Interview with Carlisle Floyd, May 4, 1991.