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Carlisle Floyd's American opera 'Susannah' returns to FSU stage that launched its 1955 debut
BY LIBBY FAIRHURST
The acclaimed American opera "Susannah" is playing at Florida State University until Nov. 12 for a musical homecoming 50 years in the making.
Penned a half century ago by then-FSU music professor Carlisle Floyd, the distinctly Southern opera has returned to FSU and the Ruby Diamond Auditorium stage that launched its debut and Floyd's career in 1955.
It's a golden anniversary he wouldn't have missed for the world. Now 79 and acknowledged as one of opera's foremost American composers and librettists, Floyd was on hand Nov. 4 for opening night. What's more, FSU awarded him an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters prior to the evening's performance, in recognition of his extraordinary contributions to music and the university.
"Since its world premiere at Florida State University in 1955, 'Susannah' has come to be known as a symbol of the 'American Voice' in opera," said FSU College of Music Dean Don Gibson. "On the occasion of these historic performances, we are particularly delighted to honor Mr. Floyd in this manner."
The Florida State Opera, part of the FSU College of Music, is offering several performances of the 20th-century masterpiece, performed in English and known for its egalitarian appeal to opera buffs and first-timers alike. "Susannah's" timeless theme of guilt-by-association held up a mirror to the paranoia and zealotry of the McCarthy era in which it was written. Set in the mountains of Tennessee with music evocative of hymns and folk songs, it tells the story of a beautiful, virtuous woman accused of sinfulness and persecuted by vindictive townsfolk.
Loosely based on the tale from the Apocrypha of Susannah and the Elders, the FSU debut catapulted Floyd to national fame and his production to the New York City Opera in 1956, where it garnered a New York Music Critics Circle Award for Best New Opera. "Susannah" was selected to represent American music and culture at the Brussels World's Fair in 1958.
"For me, the most remarkable aspects of this occasion are that, given the usual painfully brief life span of new operas, 'Susannah' is still being performed today and is now generally considered to be part of the standard operatic repertory," Floyd said. "This is certainly something I would never have dared dream of in 1955. At that time I was just hoping there would somehow be an opportunity for my opera to be heard in New York, little knowing that over succeeding years it would be given four separate productions by the New York City Opera and eventually the Metropolitan Opera.
"What pleases me perhaps even more than this is the fact that 'Susannah' has had the good fortune to be performed in every major city in this country and in Berlin, Vienna, France and Canada as well," he said.
The golden anniversary performances at Ruby Diamond feature FSU College of Music Professor and Director of Opera Activities Douglas Fisher as conductor, Associate Professor Matthew Lata as director, and costume designs by theatre Professor Colleen Muscha. Shows are scheduled for 11 and 12 at 7:30 p.m.
Floyd recalled the shoestring budget for "Susannah's" 1955 premiere.
"The production had very humble beginnings, as I suppose was appropriate given the opera's rural locale. By 'humble beginnings' I mean, for instance, that the budget for the costumes was $50. Believe it or not, we stayed within that budget, thanks to the heroic efforts of a cast member who made all of the costumes herself."
Born in Latta, S.C., Floyd received his bachelor's and master's degrees in piano composition at Syracuse University. After 29 years at FSU beginning just four days after his 21st birthday, Floyd joined the University of Houston faculty in 1976 and later co-founded the Houston Opera Studio, a young-artists training program.
He retired and returned to Tallahassee several years ago.
During his prolific musical career, the noted teacher and conductor wrote operatic renditions of "Wuthering Heights" (1958); "Of Mice and Men" (1970); "Willie Stark" (1981); and "Cold Sassy Tree" (2000), in addition to "Susannah" and many others. Floyd also composed a wide range of non-operatic works. The recipient of myriad honors and awards, his recent accolades include a National Medal of the Arts in 2004 and induction into the American Academy of Arts and Letters in 2001.
"We are proud of FSU's long and distinguished opera tradition, which has flourished and risen through the national rankings in no small part due to Mr. Floyd's achievements during his tenure here," Gibson said.
For ticket information, contact the FSU Fine Arts ticket office: (850) 644-6500.
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