In 2010, Carlisle Floyd attended the performance of my very first Susannah and to say I was anxious was an understatement. After the show, I asked Maestro Floyd to sign my score. He asked what he should jot down and I jokingly said, “Better luck next time?” This proper, well-dressed, gentleman from Latta, South Carolina, looked at me with a little smirk and then penned into my score “Better luck next time! -CF.” That moment was the beginning of a friendship and mentorship that led to me conducting his Cold Sassy Tree, recording Wuthering Heights, pacing a few more Susannahs, and of course conducting the masterpiece, Of Mice and Men.
Maestro Floyd LOVED the theater, and he adored singers. Like Richard Wagner, he was his own librettist relishing in every word, every punctuation mark, and every moment of silence. He never wanted the pacing of his pieces to become indulgent (I often was kindly scolded), or the portrayal of a role to be stereotyped. His operas depict unique characters who struggle against powerful forces in society in realistic situations—American verismo.
The sonic world of Carlisle Floyd’s Of Mice and Men is truly American, containing signature open fourths and fifths, spacious intervals, and music that evokes the sounds of traditional American folk music. Of Mice and Men possesses an accessible but lean lyricism, polytonality when the dramatic situation becomes difficult, a grand cinematic intensity, and a rich orchestration of haunting colors with a solemness of despair. I liken Of Mice and Men to Puccini’s La bohème where not one note, not one rest, is out of place—it is a perfect opera.
Maestro Floyd loved to draw and initially wanted to become a painter. As you prepare for this performance, take a moment to reflect on the works of the visual artists from the 1930s who embodied American realism movement: Edward Hopper, Grant Wood, and Georgia O’Keeffe. The compositional style of these painters is simple, based on geometric forms, flat masses of color, and strong vertical, horizontal, and diagonal elements. An iconic example is Hopper’s American Gothic. When you relate what you remember of these paintings, especially their color palettes, to Maestro Floyd’s music, it will all come together.
Composer, librettist, professor, painter, pianist, stage director, and lover of Diet Coke; Carlisle Floyd, the Dean of American Opera, shaped the artistry of many of today’s composers, conductors, stage directors, and singers. But for me it was his role as a teacher, THE Maestro, and I am incredibly grateful to have been one of his students.
About Joseph Mechavich:
Joseph Memchavich (conductor of Of Mice and Men) currently serves as general director at Piedmont Opera. His passion and commitment to the art form has helped to forge career-defining relationships with numerous opera companies, composers and orchestras in the United States and abroad. Read full bio.
Don't miss Of Mice and Men, conducted by Joseph Mechavich, May 1–3, 2026, at the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts. Get tickets now.
