"Wilde" for Mezzo Soprano, Tenor, Violin and Piano

Program Notes

Wilde is a multimedia experience in color, both visually and sonically. Incorporating music, painting and drama, this work of abstract portraitist asks the audience to consider “What does an artist tell us about themself through their work?” The piece is centered on the historical figure Oscar Wilde, the late 19th century poet, playwright, satirist and intellectual who saw his Victorian English world for what it was but, ironically, may not have been able to see himself with the same clarity. Composer Dylan Fixmer has set eight colorful poems by Wilde to music and has chosen six selections of historical text, while visual artist Betony Coons to help frame and portray the man behind the words. The premiere performance of the work was presented as part of the Through Lines Interdisciplinary Arts Grant at the University of Northern Colorado, Greeley, with Mezzo soprano Logan Contreras, tenor Charles Moore, violinist Sarah Off, pianist Katilyn Rittner, composer Dylan Fixmer and painter Betony Coons.

Performance Notes

In the Spring of 2023 I was approached by pianist Katilyn Rittner to create a work for two voices, violin and piano. Her intent was a perform a new work that synthesized vivid color in musical, poetical and visual form. That summer while spending time on the west coast of Ireland, I came across a copy of the collected works of Oscar Wilde, whose plays I had adored for many years. Perusing his poetry, I was thrilled by his vivid imagery and extensive use of color. I made note of the poems, returned to my writing desk in Colorado and began working on the songs, when my wife reminded me that we had a copy of The Wilde Album, a history of Oscar and his family written by Wilde’s grandson, Merlin Holland. The first hand historical recollections from this text along with eight poems by Oscar became the framework for a musical portrait of a man bursting with color and life, yet secreting away parts of himself for lack of societal support. My goal in creating this work was to portray Wilde as the complex individual he was and use both vocalists, as well as the violin, to illustrate his internal and external conflicts, as well as a paradoxical life and work. In the premiere of the work, any spoken line of Oscar Wilde’s was read by both the mezzo and tenor at the same time, each with their own inflection and delivery.