Every since the inception of opera as an important genre in Western music, the subjects or “stories” that inform musical drama have largely focused on the exotic, the nobility, historical events, fantasy worlds, and in general, upon mysteries far removed from ordinary lives. That began to change more or less after WWI with the advent of more “realistic” librettos—in keeping with various contemporary trends toward accessibility in art. We’ve only to think of Kurt Weill’s “The Threepenny Opera” to confirm the shift in focus. Of course, this was almost exclusively a European phenomenon. But, by the 1930s a few steps were taken in the development of a “true” American opera tradition. Virgil Thompson’s Four Saints in Three Acts (1928) and Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess (1935) were seminal works that led to the establishment of an American opera tradition. The simplicity of Copland’s populist musical style was part and parcel of that movement.
By the end of the century there was an efflorescent of operas by American composers—most conceived with various kinds of accessible elements that appealed to American audiences. The composer’s names are all familiar: Bernstein, Adams, Glass, Barber, and a host of others. And while not quite as much of a household name as some of them, that of Carlisle Floyd stands central in the development of American popular operas composed in a mainstream musical style with everyday characters--a musical package that had immense and broad appeal to American audiences.
Floyd’s roots lay deep in South Carolina, where his family had lived for centuries, in a rural, Southern milieu. His father was a Protestant minister, and he spent his youth in various small Southern towns—an upbringing that informed the style and content of his life’s work in opera. Initially trained as a pianist, he soon began to devote his efforts to composition. He spent the majority of his career as a beloved teacher of composition at Florida State University. His first opera—or musical play—was Slow Dusk (1949)—a rustic, tragic little affair that has long been performed in college opera workshops. While he went on to compose about a dozen works for the stage, including the highly acclaimed Of Mice and Men (1969), it was with Susannah (1955) that he hit the big time. After its première in Tallahassee it was taken up by the New York City Opera, and garnered widespread approbation, winning prestigious awards.
Susannah is based upon the familiar story from the biblical apocrypha of the beautiful Susannah, spied upon while nude bathing by church elders, and then blackmailed by them for sexual favors. After being falsely accused of adultery by the church and community, she ultimately proves her innocence and gains her revenge. It’s been a favorite tale of morality and innocence triumphant for centuries and museums are full of paintings that depict it.
Floyd’s opera moves the tale to a village in the mountains of Eastern Tennessee, in the rural American South that he knew so well. The musical style is simple, infused with Appalachian folk-like tunes and hymns. The opera opens at a square dance, where Susannah’s beauty generates a web of vicious, jealous gossip from the church women. Soon, the infamous bathing scene occurs, which torpedoes her already shaky reputation. Universal condemnation and demands for public “confession” ensue.
“Ain’t it a pretty night” is a signature aria from this intense example of what might be called American verismoopera—replete with tragedy, deep emotion, and very human characters. In the aria Susannah naïvely, and yet beautifully poetic, admires the beauty of the Appalachian forest in the luminous night. For the moment, she buries her deep pain and instead, is entranced by the firmament. She knows there are other worlds beyond the Tennessee mountains, worlds with entrancements about which she knows little, and longs to escape the physical and moral confines of her village. But, then she knows she could always return. Perhaps inevitably so.
“Ain’t it a pretty night” is an evergreen aria of American opera. Its passion, beauty, and reflection of universal human aspirations have made it an operatic favorite. Its appeal is just as resilient as a choral arrangement.
--Wm. E. Runyan
©2023 William E. Runyan