“And we’ll live off the fat of the land…”
Anthony Dean Griffey (left) as Lennie and Gordon Hawkins (right) as George in Of Mice and Men
Houston Grand Opera, 2002
PHOTO: GEORGE HIXSON
Of Mice and Men
(1969) 120’
Opera in three acts
Text Libretto by the composer, based on the novel by John Steinbeck
Scoring S, 4T, 2Bar; male chorus
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Version for reduced orchestra available:
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Of Mice and Men is based on John Steinbeck’s tale of two migrant ranch workers in pursuit of a simple dream: to own a small house and farm of their own. George and his traveling companion Lennie— who has the physique and strength of a giant, a child’s mind, and a love for soft things he can pet— have constant problems with their employers, as Lennie unknowingly (and eventually, tragically) creates difficulties for George and himself.
Floyd was drawn to his suspenseful and ultimately heartbreaking story, creating a dramatically taut stage work that Musical America proclaimed as “more powerful a realization of Steinbeck’s story than either the original short novel or the play subsequently made from it.” The composer’s score paints vivid portraits of the characters, with rhythms and musical textures that evoke agrarian life and open spaces.
Notable Moment: “You bet it’s gonna be different!”
George (bass-baritone), Act II
Migrant ranch worker George Milton takes care of his friend Lennie Small, a giant of man with the mind of a child. They have always dreamed of having a place of their own, but fellow worker Slim says he’s never met a ranch and who has made that dream come true. George insists that he and Lennie are different— they wil not settle for the lonely life of a ranch hand.
Anthony Dean Griffey as Lennie in Of Mice and Men
Opera Australia, 2011
PHOTO: BRANCO GAICA
“Of Mice and Men I would venture to say is Carlisle’s masterpiece. I think it’s just perfection— a perfect marriage of material to the emotional world of a composer. Based on Steinbeck’s great novel, it’s about the way people are perceived, and it really brought out some kind of visceral emotion in Carlisle.
What he found in Of Mice and Men was a way to illuminate characters from within, musically. Each of the characters is very distinctive, very honest— which are very Floydian qualities. But the opera hits you so deeply because he really went within each person. Lenny particularly has a musical language that totally describes him. We understand Lenny from the inside, not as an observing voice or ego. I find Of Mice and Men just so brilliant in that way.”
— Conductor Patrick Summers
“Mr. Floyd’s music is run through with delicately astringent harmonies and ethereal inner voices in the orchestra. Coplandesque passages and fleeting folkloric tunes evoke Dust Bowl America.”
Listen.
Hear an excerpt from the world premiere performance at Seattle Opera in 1970.