In 2010, Carlisle Floyd, one of American opera's most titanic talents, found himself at an impasse. Caring for family and with few leads as to his next project, he unexpectedly found a spark of inspiration in the story of Edward Kynaston. This seventeenth-century British actor had his star turn on the stage unceremoniously ended by a ban on male actors performing women's roles. Centuries later, his misfortune gave this brilliant composer a way back onto the stage he valued so much. In this companion to Falling Up: The Days and Nights of Carlisle Floyd , author Thomas Holliday follows Floyd through his creatively fruitful final decade, focusing on his relationship with family and the production of his final opera, Prince of Players , inspired by the life and work of Kynaston. Told through reminiscences from those closest to him, the book is an intimate portrait of the composer's creative process. Encore is a testament to Floyd's work and enduring influence, a portrait of an icon still innovating and creating until the end.