Carlisle Floyd Born: 1926

(U.S. Opera Home Page)

• Slow Dusk, opera in one act; libretto by the composer (c. 1949; 1957, Augustana College)
• Susannah, opera in two acts (1955, Florida State University)
• Wuthering Heights, libretto by the composer after the novel of Emily Brontë (1958, Santa Fe Opera)
• Wuthering Heights [rev.] (1959, NY City Opera)
• The Passion of Jonathan Wade, libretto by the composer (1962, NY City Opera)
• The Sojourner and Mollie Sinclair, libretto by the composer [composed for television] (1964, Raleigh, NC)
• Of Mice and Men, libretto by the composer after the novel by John Steinbeck (1970)
• Flower and Hawk, melodrama, libretto by the composer (16 May 1972, Jacksonville, Florida)
• Bilby's Doll, libretto by the composer (1976)
• Willie Stark, libretto by the composer after the novel All the King's Men by Robert Penn Warren (1981)
• Cold Sassy Tree, libretto by the composer after the novel by Olive Ann Burns (14 April 2000, Houston)

Though he has composed many operas over his long career, so far Susannah stands out as Carlisle Floyd's lasting contribution to the genre. One of the most perennially popular American operas, it has earned a place in the repretory of companies inside and outside the U.S.

Susannah. Studer/Ramey/Hadley 1994. Compact disc: Virgin 45039.

Susannah. Treigle/Curtin, rel. 1995 (live recording of NYCO premiere). Compact disc: VAI 1115.

Markheim. Treigle/Crofoot/Diard/Schuh, New Orleans/Andersson, rel. 1996. Compact disc: VAI 1107.

The Sojourner and Mollie Sinclair. Treigle/Neway, Rudel, rel. 1999. Compact disc: VAI 1172.

"Ain't it a pretty night" Susannah, on Phyllis Curtin: Opera Arias Phyllis Curtin, rel. 1998. Compact disc: VAI 1152.

"Ain't it a pretty night" and "The trees on the mountain" from Susannah, on I Want Magic! American Opera Arias Renee Fleming 1998. Compact disc: Polygram 460567.

"Ain't it a pretty night" from Susannah, on The World So Wide, Dawn Upshaw 1998. Compact disc: Nonesuch 79458.