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The operetta plays with the themes of masking, of social class, and of the fine line between delight and dispair. After the ball is over, there is a frothy series of misadventures that leads to the unmasking of the behavior of both Rosalinde and Gabriel and to a reconciliation between them. It also leads to a more hopeful future for Adele. I have composed Fledermaus Fantasy around four numbers from the operetta: the Introduction, Adele’s aria, the Czárdás that Rosalinde sings in her disguise as an exotic Hungarian, and the tick-tock tune that accompanies Gabriel’s attempt to seduce his own wife. Fledermaus Fantasy layers a virtuosic froth, extensions, and twisting inventions around the original melodies. Fledermaus Fantasy was premiered on a concert at the University of Virginia celebrating the 30th anniversary of the admission of women. –JS
The composer website: http://judithshatin.com/
Educated at Douglass College (AB, Phi Beta Kappa), The Juilliard School (MM) and Princeton University (PhD), Judith Shatin is currently William R. Kenan, Jr. Professor and Director of the Virginia Center for Computer Music, which she founded at the University of Virginia in 1987. Long an advocate for her fellow composers, she has served on the boards of the American Composers Alliance, the League/ISCM, and the International Alliance for Women in Music (IAWM). She also served as President of American Women Composers, Inc. (1989-93). In demand as a master teacher, she has been featured at the BMI residency at Vanderbilt University, and as senior composer for the Wellesley Composers Conference. |