When someone lived as long as Carlisle Floyd, it seems as if no time has passed when we come to mark his centenary. Floyd, one of the most successful opera composers this country ever produced, died in 2021 at the age of 95.

In 1955, even as tonality was slipping out of fashion, Floyd achieved something quite wonderful. He transplanted the Apocryphal tale of Susannah and the Elders to rural Tennessee – writing libretto and music while on the piano faculty at Florida State University – and rendered it with touching, tuneful simplicity. He was not yet 30, when he enticed soprano Phyllis Curtin and baritone Mack Harrell to Tallahassee to sing in the world premiere.

The work’s success soon spread to New York City, and “Susannah” became one of the most frequently performed of American operas, said to be second only to Gershwin’s “Porgy and Bess.” It does feature two heart-melting arias that remain favorites of aspiring American sopranos: “Ain’t It a Pretty Night” and “The Trees on the Mountain.” The directness of the drama and the uncluttered musical language struck a chord with both performers and audiences.

Emboldened by his success, Floyd went on to compose ten more operas, all of them on his own librettos, drawing inspiration from such diverse sources as Emily Brontë’s “Wuthering Heights,” Robert Louis Stevenson’s “Markheim,” John Steinbeck’s “Of Mice and Men,” and Robert Penn Warren’s “All the King’s Men.”

“Cold Sassy Tree,” based on the novel of Olive Ann Burns, was given its premiere in 2000. The composer had intended it to be his swan song. He had become too busy caring for his wife, who was suffering from Alzheimer’s disease, to devote much further thought to composition. But following her death, he found the inspiration for one last hurrah. The result was “Prince of Players,” about 17th century actor Edward Kynaston, which was given its premiere at Houston Grand Opera in March 2016, when the composer was 90-years-old.

For his centennial year, there are more than 30 productions of his operas scheduled, as well as a Carnegie Hall celebration later this month. It’s heartening that his significance has not been overlooked.

Ain’t it a pretty night for Carlisle Floyd!

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Dawn Upshaw breaks hearts with “Ain’t It a Pretty Night,” from “Susannah”

Cheryl Studer sings “The Trees on the Mountain,” from a complete recording of the work

Samuel Ramey as the Reverend Olin Blitch

A taste of “Prince of Players” from Little Opera Theater of New York

The 2021 Grammy-nominated recording (Best Opera Recording; Best Contemporary Classical Composition; Producer of the Year, Classical)

Carlisle Floyd speaks

“Cold Sassy Tree”

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PHOTO: Floyd in 2009, outside the house in Tallahassee, FL, in which he composed “Susannah”