Carlisle Floyd

Carlisle Sessions Floyd (June 11, 1926 – September 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 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.

Works for stage Slow Dusk 1949

data-sort-value="Fugitives" | The Fugitives 1951(unfinished) data-sort-value="ZZZZ1B" | Unfinished stage work

Susannah 1955 Susanna and the Elders Wuthering Heights 1958 1959 Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë data-sort-value="Passion" | The Passion of Jonathan Wade 1962 1991

data-sort-value="Sojourner" | The Sojourner and Mollie Sinclair 1963

Markheim 1966 "Markheim" by Robert Louis Stevenson Of Mice and Men 1970 Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck Flower and Hawk 1972

Bilby's Doll 1976 A Mirror for Witches by Esther Forbes Willie Stark 1981 All the King's Men by Robert Penn Warren Cold Sassy Tree 2000 Cold Sassy Tree by Olive Ann Burns Prince of Players 2016 Fictional portrayal of Edward Kynaston's life

Other works Pilgrimage 1956 data-sort-value="ZZZZ2B" | Song cycleBaritone and orchestra Various biblical texts Piano Sonata 1957 data-sort-value="ZZZZ2B" | Solo piano

data-sort-value="Mystery" | The Mystery 1960 data-sort-value="ZZZZ2B" | Song cycleSoprano and orchestra Text by Gabriela Mistral Introduction, Aria, and Dance 1967 data-sort-value="ZZZZ2B" | Orchestral

In Celebration 1971 data-sort-value="ZZZZ2B" | Orchestral

Citizen of Paradise 1983 data-sort-value="ZZZZ2B" | Song cycleMezzo-soprano and piano Text by Emily Dickinson Flourishes 1987 data-sort-value="ZZZZ2B" | OrchestralFanfare

A Time to Dance 1994 data-sort-value="ZZZZ2B" | OrchestralBaritone, chorus and orchestra

Soul of Heaven 1995 data-sort-value="ZZZZ2B" | Song cycleVoice and piano Text by various authors

Awards and honors 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.