Mission Opera, Santa Clarita’s professional opera company, will present a powerful double bill of one-act operas by Carlisle Floyd, “Slow Dusk” and “The Sojourner and Mollie Sinclair,” on Friday, April 10, Saturday, April 11 and Sunday, April 12 at the Olive Branch Theatricals Theater at Valencia Town Center.

The production is part of the Carlisle Floyd Centennial, a nationwide and international celebration marking the 100th anniversary of the composer’s birth and honoring his enduring legacy as one of the most significant figures in American opera.

Conducted by Christopher James Ray, Executive Director of the Carlisle Floyd Centennial, the Mission Opera production brings together local Southern California singers and instrumentalists in a fully staged MainStage presentation.

The evening will be co-directed by Dr. Joshua Wentz and Stephan Nieman, offering audiences a rare opportunity to experience two contrasting works that illuminate Floyd’s dramatic range, musical language and deep engagement with Colonial American history and identity.

‘Slow Dusk’

Floyd’s first opera, “Slow Dusk” (1955), is a compact, 25-minute dramatic tragedy set in the rural Carolinas in the Colonial era. On a quiet farmhouse porch, family tensions, religious divisions and economic hardship frame a fragile love story between Sadie and Micah. When Micah dares to hope for a future together, fate intervenes with devastating consequences.

Spare, lyrical and emotionally direct, “Slow Dusk” reveals the seeds of Floyd’s mature operatic voice, intimate drama rooted in regional life and moral conflict.

‘The Sojourner and Mollie Sinclair’

In “The Sojourner and Mollie Sinclair” (1963), loyalty, power and identity in the North Carolina colony collide on the eve of the American Revolution. On his 60th birthday Dougald MacDougald, a Scottish émigré and colonial landowner loyal to the British Crown, clashes with Mollie Sinclair, a revolutionist when their own personal history and political upheaval converge as Mollie leads a protest against the Stamp Act.

Through richly drawn characters and sharply etched drama, Floyd explores the impossibility of standing between two cultures and the personal cost of choosing sides.

Together, the two operas offer a compelling portrait of Carlisle Floyd’s artistic evolution, from intimate rural tragedy to sweeping historical drama, united by his unmistakable American voice.

Part of the Carlisle Floyd Centennial

Mission Opera’s production is one of more than 50 performances worldwide presented as part of the Carlisle Floyd Centennial (CF100), which includes major productions, orchestral performances and academic initiatives across the United States and abroad.

The Centennial honors Floyd’s foundational role in shaping American opera, particularly through works such as “Susannah,” “Of Mice and Men” and “Wuthering Heights” and celebrates his lasting influence on generations of composers, performers and audiences.

Performance Information

April 10 at 7:30 p.m., April 11-12 at 4 p.m.

Olive Branch Theatricals at the Valencia Town Center,

24201 Valencia Blvd., Ste. #2283, Santa Clarita, CA 91355.

Ticket Link: www.onthestage.tickets/mission-opera

Company: Mission Opera

Conducted by: Christopher James Ray

Directed by: Dr. Joshua Wentz and Stephan Nieman

Mission Opera is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit opera company based in Santa Clarita, dedicated to producing compelling operatic performances, supporting emerging and established artists and expanding access to opera through education and community engagement throughout Southern California.

For more information visit www.missionopera.com.