Playwright, poet, and novelist Oscar Wilde was born today in 1854 in Dublin, Ireland. Studying classics as a youth, he became one of the founders Aestheticism. Much of Wilde’s writing, while aesthetic in nature, also contained an undercurrent of social commentary, particularly on the upper-class, as well as significant subtext about homosexuality. Wilde, who openly spoke about his romantic relationships with men, was later famously arrested for himself after a long libel suit and a slandering portrayal by PIs who were hired to investigate his sex life. He continued to write in prison and published works even after his exile in 1897. On November 30, 1900, Wilde died due to cerebral meningitis. Composers across the world have found inspiration in his many works; we highlight some of them here.
1. Charles Griffes - 'Impressions du Matin' from Four Impressions
Originally written as part of a letter to a friend, the poem 'Impressions du Matin' was written in 1881. The poem seems to describe a river, but is commonly interpreted by scholars to comment on prostitution. Charles Griffes composed this in 1915 alongside other pieces inspired by Wilde poems: 'La Mer', 'Le Jardin', and 'Le Revellion'. Here, soprano Olivia Stapp sings the text of the poem to piano accompaniment.
2. Henry Hadley - Salome, Op. 55
Wilde’s French language play Salome adapts the Biblical tale of Salome, a daughter of Herod who calls for the execution of John the Baptist after performing the erotic Dance of the Seven Veils for the king. Less well known than Richard Strauss’s opera of the same basis, Hadley composed this 30 minute symphonic poem in 1905 after seeing a production of the play.
3. Lowell Liebermann - The Picture of Dorian Gray
A common reading staple in high school literature classes, Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray details the life of the eponymous hero who sells his soul to continue living as a bon viveur– in return, a portrait of him grows older and older while he remains young. American composer Lowell Lieberman premiered this work at the Monte Carlo Opera in 1996. In these clips, tenor Jorge Garza sings the role of Gray.
4. Sergei Prokofiev - 'Overture' from Maddalena
Maddalena, loosely based on Wilde’s unfinished play A Florentine Tragedy, was first written in 1912, but Prokofiev’s work was not performed in full until 1981 in Austria. Set in Venice, the opera concerns Maddalena, a woman caught in a love triangle that ultimately leads to a fatal battle between two men.
5. Sergei Vasilenko - 'The Garden of Death (After Oscar Wilde)', Op. 13
VIDEO HERE
BLURB HERE - BASED ON THE CANTERVILLE GHOST
6. Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco - 'The Birthday of the Infanta', Op. 115
VIDEO HERE
BLURB HERE - BASED ON THE BIRTHDAY OF THE INFANTA
7. Gerald Barry - 'And this is what you call Bunburying?' from The Importance of Being Earnest
The most well-known of Wilde’s plays is the farce The Importance of Being Earnest. Set in late 1800s England, the comedy of errors concerns two upperclass gentlemen, Algernon and Jack, who both invent a persona named Ernest to avoid social contracts with people they don’t care for. Staged in an avant-garde style in 2012, this piece features tenor Peter Tansits as Jack and bass Joshua Bloom as Algernon.
