American Composer Carlisle Floyd Attends OF MICE & MEN's Tulsa Opera Premiere Tonight

Tulsa Opera is pleased to welcome Carlisle Floyd, one of the foremost American opera composers and librettists, to Tulsa for the upcoming Oklahoma premiere of his opera Of Mice & Men, based on John Steinbeck's iconic novel. While in Tulsa, Mr. Floyd will attend opening night of Tulsa Opera's production of Of Mice & Men tonight, April 10 at 7:30 p.m. at the Tulsa Performing Arts Center.

He will also be the guest of honor for An Evening with Carlisle Floyd on April 11 at 7:00 p.m. at The University of Tulsa's Lorton Performance Center. The latter will consist of a showcase of Floyd's varied works performed by Tulsa Opera Studio and Tulsa Youth Opera and a conversation with Mr. Floyd moderated by Rich Fisher, General Manager of Public Radio Tulsa and host of Studio Tulsa on KWGS.

"Carlisle Floyd is not only a founding father of American opera, but a towering cultural figure of our times," said Tulsa Opera Artistic Director Kostis Protopapas. "A composer, pianist, poet and teacher, Carlisle Floyd has not only forged powerful musical dramas out of contemporary American stories, but has created a standard of musical language and storytelling which has guided generations of composers, and has illuminated the American experience in a unique and penetrating way."

Mr. Floyd is widely revered for creating a distinctly American idiom for opera, drawing on folk and religious music traditions. He is best known for his masterwork Susannah, which premiered at New York City Opera in 1956. His ten other operas or, as they are sometimes referred, musical dramas, include an adaptation of Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights (1958); Markheim, after Robert Louis Stevenson, (1966); Of Mice & Men (1970); and Cold Sassy Tree, after Olive Ann Burns, (2000). He has also composed several other works for orchestra, voice and piano. Mr. Floyd is currently at work on Prince of Players, which will receive its world premiere at Houston Grand Opera on March 5, 2016.

Admission to An Evening with Carlisle Floyd is free and the event is open to the public. Tulsa Opera presents Of Mice & Men tonight, April 10 at 7:30 p.m. and April 12 at 2:30 p.m. in Chapman Music Hall of the Tulsa Performing Arts Center. Tickets start at $25. For tickets and additional information, visit www.tulsaopera.com or call 918.587.4811.

Founded in 1948, Tulsa Opera is celebrating its 66th Season of presenting grand opera to a five state regional audience. Tulsa Opera is the 16th oldest opera company in the United States and is widely recognized as one of the Top 10 regional opera companies.

About Carlisle Floyd: 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 (1953-54), 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 cho- sen to be America's official operatic entry at the 1958 Brussels World's Fair. Of Mice and Men (1969) is Floyd's other most often performed work. In the 1998-99 season alone it was presented by New York City Opera, Utah Opera, San Diego Opera, and Cleveland Opera. 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 more recent 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 (2000) received its premiere at Houston Grand Opera in April 2000. Subse- quently, it has been performed by Austin Lyric Opera, Central City Opera, Lyric Opera of Kansas City, Opera Caro- lina, Opera Omaha, San Diego Opera, and Utah Opera.

The composer has also gained increasing attention for his non-operatic works. 1993 saw the New York premiere of Floyd's orchestral song cycle, Citizen of Paradise (1984), given by the leading mezzo-soprano of the Metropolitan Op- era, Suzanne Mentzer. Floyd also completed a large-scale work for chorus, bass-baritone soloist, and orchestra titled A Time to Dance (1993), commissioned by the American Choral Directors Association.

Floyd has been the recipient of a number of honors and awards: a Guggenheim Fellowship (1956); Citation of Merit from the National Association of American Conductors and Composers (1957); the Ten Outstanding Young Men of the Nation Award from the U.S. Junior Chamber of Commerce (1959); the distinguished professor of Florida State University Award (1964); an honorary doctorate from Dickinson College (1983); and the National Opera Institute's Award for Service to American Opera (1983). 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. Floyd was inducted into the Ameri- can 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 one of four honorees-and the only composer-to be included in the inaugural National Endowment for the Arts Opera Honors. In 2011, he was inducted into the South Carolina Hall of Fame, an honor reserved for the state's most-accomplished native sons.