The man credited with almost single-handedly inventing American opera is bringing his latest work back to where it all began. This week, Carlisle Floyd’s “Prince of Players” begins a 4-performance run at Florida State University’s Opperman Music Hall.
Carlisle Floyd came to FSU as a piano professor a few years after the end of World War II. That’s where he composed and first staged his best known operatic work “Susannah” in 1955. Sixty-two years later, Floyd is back at Florida State to oversee the performance of his latest opera, “Prince of Players.”
“It’s a very appropriate place for it to be heard and I’m just very happy that the Opera and Music departments undertook this,” Floyd smiled with obvious delight.
Today, Florida State University’s Opera and Music departments are nationally acclaimed. But that was not true when Floyd first came to town.
“Believe me when I first came here, in ’47, there was no such animal. Certainly there was nothing comparable and not even foreseeable in those days,” he recalled.
With typical modesty, Floyd discounted the considerable impact his creative output had on helping elevate those departments to their current celebrity. And he seemed almost surprised that his old school would be so kind as to stage his latest work; and were even on hand at “Prince of Players” world debut in Texas a year ago.
“Doug and his confreres came over to Houston to see the premiere and told me at the intermission, ‘We’re doing it next March’. So it didn’t take a lot to convince them, I’m happy to say.”
“Doug”, by the way, is FSU Professor and Director of Opera Activities Douglas Fisher. He explained this production was much different from staging a more traditional opera, like for instance a Verdi or Rossini work. Mainly because the living, breathing composer was right there to help oversee his own composition.
“The refreshing thing about that was how many times going through something with him he would say, ‘No, no, no! I know everybody does that violin tune in the opening scene that fast, but look at the score and see what I wrote. It’s not that fast. Do what I wrote and not what you’ve heard!’” Fisher said, adding there were challenges beyond the music, too.
The story involves a time in the 17th Century when all stage roles, whether male or female, were played by men. So at several points in “Prince of Players”, the leading man has to do some REALLY fast changes, not only of costume but also of gender.
“Organizing the costume changes backstage is going to take some effort,” Fisher said. “It’s not going to happen automatically, because you don’t want the audience to think about it. You want them to believe that between one scene and the next a month has transpired, even though in fact it’s only been 30 or 45 seconds.”
This week, “Prince of Players”, including a number of those lightning fast costume changes, along with epic staging, soaring singing and inspirational orchestration, comes to the stage of FSU’s Opperman Music Hall. All happening under the very approving and appreciative eyes of the man who created it, and an entire genre of contemporary opera, Carlisle Floyd.
“I’m saying that to Doug Fisher and all of his minions; thank you for bringing it home to where I live. And working with them again is a great pleasure because I’ve known Doug a long time and we’ve worked together before,” Floyd said.
That collaboration could very well happen again. Coming up on his 91st year, Floyd cagily hinted he may have yet another musical creation in the works. “Prince of Players” is at FSU’s Opperman Music Hall this Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings (3/30, 3/31 and 4/1) at 7:30 p.m., with an April 2nd Sunday matinee at 3:00 p.m.
