The 2021 GRAMMY® Award Nominations were announced today and Reference Recordings releases appeared on four nominations!
2021 GRAMMY® Nominations for RR releases:
Best Opera Recording
Carlisle Floyd: Prince Of Players — William Boggs, conductor; Keith Phares & Kate Royal; Blanton Alspaugh, producer (Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra; Florentine Opera Chorus)
Best Contemporary Classical Composition
Carlisle Floyd: Prince Of Players — Carlisle Floyd, composer (William Boggs, Kate Royal, Keith Phares, Florentine Opera Chorus & Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra)
Producer of the Year, Classical
Blanton Alspaugh for Blessed Art Thou Among Women, Peter Jermihov, Katya Lukianov & PaTRAM Institute Singers
David Frost for Holst: The Planets; The Perfect Fool, Michael Stern & Kansas City Symphony
Carlisle Floyd: Prince of Players – An Opera in Two Acts
World Premiere Recording!
Florentine Opera Company
Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, William Boggs, Conductor
Carlisle Floyd (b. 1926) is one of the foremost composers and librettists of opera in the world today. Considered the “Father of American Opera,” Floyd’s operas are regularly performed in the US and Europe. He first achieved national prominence with the premiere of Susannah by the New York City Opera in 1956. His second opera, Wuthering Heights, premiered at Santa Fe Opera in 1958, and continues to have life decades later: a critically-acclaimed recording, released in June 2016 on Reference Recordings, was listed in Opera News’ 10 Best Opera recordings of 2016 (FR-721SACD Wuthering Heights).
During his long career, Floyd has composed 13 operas. His most recent, Prince of Players, which premiered in March 2016 at the Houston Grand Opera, is based on the true story of the Restoration-era actor Edward Kynaston (1640–1706). Reference Recordings knew that Carlisle Floyd was intent on having a recording released of his newest creation during his lifetime. He writes in the album notes: “And now, having this outstanding performance recorded for the world to hear…my 93 year old heart is filled with joy and oh, so much gratitude!”
