The Happy Prince and Other Tales (also sometimes called The Happy Prince and Other Stories) is an 1888 collection of stories for children by Oscar Wilde. It is most famous for The Happy Prince, the short tale of a metal statue who becomes friends with a migratory bird. Together they bring some happiness to others in life and in "death." The stories included in this collection are:
- The Happy Prince
- The Nightingale and the Rose
- The Selfish Giant
- The Devoted Friend
- The Remarkable Rocket
The stories convey an appreciation for the exotic, the sensual and for masculine beauty. They also are one of the rare instances of a kiss between two males – between the prince and the swallow. Thus they have been seen as intended to transmit a pederastic ethos.[1]
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The Nightingale and the Rose
There are many adaptations of this story in the form of operas and ballets, including:
- One act opera by Renzo Bossi, an Italian composer, (Como 1883 - Milan 1965) in one act, op. 18, 1910 (libretto by Bossi, after Oscar Wilde: The Nightingale and the Rose), Italian Radio Turin, August 9, 1938; staged Parma, Teatro Regio, January 9, 1940); see the link.
- A cantata by Henry Hadley, an American composer and conductor, (Somerville, Massachusetts, 1871 - New York, 1937) The Nightingale and the Rose, (libretto E.W. Grant), op. 54, S, SSAA, orchestra (New York, 1911); see the link.
- An opera by Hooper Brewster-Jones, an Australian composer (Orroroo, S. Australia, 1887 - Adelaide, 1949) The Nightingale and the Rose, 1927 (after Oscar Wilde) of which only an orchestral suite survives.
- A ballet by Harold Fraser-Simson, an English composer, (London, 1872 - Inverness, 1944) The Nightingale and the Rose, (based on Oscar Wilde) (1927); [www.fullerswood.fsnet.co.uk/fraser-simson.htm see the link].
- A ballet by Janis Kalnins, a Canadian composer and conductor of Latvian parentage. (Pärnu, Estonia, November 3, 1904 - Fredericton November 30, 2000) Lakstigala un roze [The Nightingale and the Rose], (after Oscar Wilde), Riga, 1938.
- A ballet by Friedrich Voss, a German composer and pianist (b. Halberstadt, 1930) Die Nachtigall und die Rose (G. Furtwängler, after Oscar Wilde), 1961; Oberhausen, 5th January 1962; see the Breitkopf’s page
- An opera by Jonathan Rutherford, a British composer (b 1953) – The Nightingale and the Rose, (after Oscar Wilde), 1966; link.
- One act opera by Margaret Garwood, an American composer (born Haddonfield, NJ, 1927) The Nightingale and the Rose, (libretto by Garwood, after Oscar Wilde), Chester, Widener College Alumni Auditorium, 21 Oct 1973
- One act chamber opera by Elena Firsova, a Russian composer, op. 46 (1991) The Nightingale and the Rose, (libretto by Elena Firsova, after Oscar Wilde), premiered on July 8, 1994 at Almeida Theatre, Almeida Opera;at the Boosey & Hawkes page.
- One act ballet by David Earl, a South African composer (b 1951) - The Nightingale and the Rose, 1983
Other media
- Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child did a version of the title story featuring Ed Koch and Cyndi Lauper.
Selfish Giant
In 1972, Peter Sanders wrote and produced an animated version of The Selfish Giant, which was nominated for an Academy Award. [1]
Notes
- ^ Naomi Wood, Creating the Sensual Child: Paterian Aesthetics, Pederasty and Oscar Wilde's Fairy Tales in Marvels and Tales 16.2, 2002
External links
- The Happy Prince and Other Tales by Oscar Wilde: online text at Project Gutenberg
- The Happy Prince and Other Stories with original illustrations by Charles Robinson
