Carlisle Floyd
b.11 June 1926, Latta, South Carolina2000 Jim Caldwell.jpg "Carlisle Floyd © 2000 Jim Caldwell")
Biography
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Short Biography:
Carlisle Floyd is one of the foremost composer and librettist of opera in the United States today. In 2004 he was one of eight recipients of a National Medal of Arts; President and Mrs. Bush, who presented the medals at a White House ceremony, cited him “for giving American opera its national voice in a series of contemporary classics rooted in American themes.” His operas are regularly performed in this country and in Europe; Susannah (1955) and Of Mice and Men (1970) have both entered the standard repertoire. Houston Grand Opera has premiered four of his works, including Cold Sassy Tree (2000), The Passion of Jonathan Wade (revised version, 1991), Willie Stark (1981) and Bilby’s Doll (1976).
Mr. Floyd has received increasing attention for his non-operatic works, including Citizen of Paradise, an orchestral song cycle based on the poems and letters of Emily Dickinson, and a work for chorus, bass-baritone and orchestra titled A Time to Dance, commissioned by the American Choral Directors Association. The composer’s honors include a Guggenheim Fellowship, a Citation of Merit from the National Association of American Conductors and Composers, and the National Opera Institute’s Award for Service to American Opera. His discography includes recordings of Susannah and Markheim; in 2003, Houston Grand Opera released Of Mice and Men, recorded during a 2002 production, on the Albany label. Mr. Floyd was the first composer to receive the National Endowment for the Arts Opera Honor in 2008.
Long Biography:
Carlisle Floyd is one of the foremost composers and librettists of opera in the United States today. Born in 1926, Floyd earned B.M. and M.M. degrees in piano and composition Syracuse University. He began his teaching career in 1947 at Florida State University, remaining there until 1976, when he accepted the prestigious M. D. Anderson Professorship in the University of Houston. In addition, he is co-founder with David Gockley of the Houston Opera Studio jointly created by the University of Houston and Houston Grand Opera.
Floyd’s operas are regularly performed in the US and Europe. He first achieved national prominence with the New York premiere of his opera, Susannah, by the New York City Opera in 1956 after its world premiere at Florida State University in 1955. In 1957 it won the New York Music Critic’s Circle Award and subsequently was chosen to be America’s official operatic entry at the 1958 Brussels World’s Fair. Of Mice and Men is Floyd’s other most often performed work. Based on the Steinbeck novel, it was commissioned by the Ford Foundation and was given its premiere by the Seattle Opera in 1970.
Floyd’s operas Bilby’s Doll (1976) and Willie Stark (1981) were both commissioned and produced by the Houston Grand Opera, the latter in association with the Kennedy Center. A televised version of the world premiere production of Willie Stark opened WNET’s Great Performances Series on the PBS network in September of 1981. Floyd's latest opera, Cold Sassy Tree received its premiere at Houston Grand Opera in April 2000. Subsequently, it has been performed by Austin Lyric Opera, Central City Opera, Lyric Opera of Kansas City, Opera Carolina, Opera Omaha, San Diego Opera, and Utah Opera.
Recently, the composer has gained increasing attention for his non-operatic works. 1993 saw the New York premiere of Floyd’s orchestral song cycle Citizen of Paradise given by the leading mezzo-soprano of the Metropolitan Opera Suzanne Mentzer. Floyd also completed a large-scale work for chorus, bass-baritone soloist, and orchestra entitled A Time to Dance, commissioned by the American Choral Directors Association.
Floyd has been the recipient of a number of honors and awards: a Guggenheim Fellowship; Citation of Merit from the National Association of American Conductors and Composers; the Ten Outstanding Young Men of the Nation Award from the U.S. Junior Chamber of Commerce; the distinguished professor of Florida State University Award; an honorary doctorate from Dickinson College; and the National Opera Institute’s Award for Service to American Opera. He served on the Music Panel of the National Endowment for the Arts from 1974-80 and was the first chairman of the Opera/Musical Theater Panel. Mr. Floyd was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Letters in 2001, and in 2004 was awarded the National Medal of Arts in a ceremony at the White House. In 2008, Floyd was the only composer to be included in the inaugural National Endowment for the Arts Opera Honors.
Carlisle Floyd is published exclusively by Boosey & Hawkes.
- May 2010
This biography can be reproduced free of charge in concert programmes with the following credit: Reprinted by kind permission of Boosey & Hawkes
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