“A vague and nameless hunger… gnawing at him, spreading through him like some terrible fever, demanding to be filled.”
Willie Stark
(1980) 140’
Opera in three acts and nine scenes
Text Libretto by the composer, based on the book All the King’s Men by Robert Penn Warren
Scoring S, M, 4T, 2Bar, 4 speakers, mime; chorus
2.2.2.2-2.2.2.1-timp.perc-cel-harp-strings
Left to right: David Yosburgh as Tiny Duffy, Timothy Nolan as Willie Stark, and Alan Kays as Jack Burden in Willie Stark
Houston Grand Opera, 1981
PHOTO: JIM CALDWELL
When Willie Stark first premiered in 1980, critics were divided on Floyd’s blending of musical theatre elements— The New York Times mused: “Is it opera, or is it closer to Broadway musical theatre?” Today we applaud Floyd’s candid embrace of dynamic American musical styles.
Willie Stark, based on the book All the King’s Men by Robert Penn Warren, is inspired by the life and career of Louisiana governor Huey Long. The title character has risen from a humble background to become governor of a state in the deep South. He is the grassroots champion of the working class, but behind his “country boy” image Stark is also a shrewd and ruthless politician, willing to stretch the law whenever he feels constricted by its boundaries.
The story follows Willie’s schemes to avoid impeachment for re-ordering the state’s legal system to achieve his political ends. Although his attempts to do so are successful, Willie leaves many ruined lies in the wake of his political ambition. Inwardly he is torn by a profound conflict between the idealistic man who entered politics several years before and the corrupt politician he has become.
Notable Moment: “Single Bed Blanket”
Willie (baritone), Act I, Scene 2
Governor Willie Stark is facing the impeachment for manipulating the laws in order to implement his populist agenda. The influential Judge Courtney Burden supports impeachment, and Willie has gone to visit him and try to change his mind. The judge deplores Willie’s “contempt for the law.” In this attempt to justify his behavior, Willie compares the law with three people in a bed who have only a sing-size blanket: Just as they would try to stretch the blanket to keep them all warm, so Willie has stretched the law.
Timothy Nolan as the title character in Willie Stark
Houston Grand Opera, 1981
PHOTO: JIM CALDWELL
“Susannah and Of Mice and Men were revelations to me when I first heard them in the 1990s. It was thrilling and inspiring to hear his brand of soaring lyricism on the American lyric opera stage. Carlisle’s courage astonishes me, and it is heartening to know that his energy, ideas, passion, grace, enthusiasm, and brilliant theatrical gifts will resonate and inspire many, many generations to come.”
— Composer Jake Heggie
