Johan Wagenaar

Cyrano de Bergerac

Dutch composer Johan Wagenaar (1862 - 1941) parodied the conventions of Romantic opera in his own operas and secular cantatas, his music itself is staunchly Romantic in voice, little troubled by even the chromaticism of Wagner, let alone subsequent developments in the 20th century. Although his symphonic poem "Saul and David", written in 1906 to commemorate the three hundredth anniversary of Rembrandt's birth, is considered his most ambitious work, it is this overture inspired by Rostand's "Cyrano de Bergerac" that was his most successful piece. The overture recalls the spirit and style of Strauss's brand new tone poems, which Wagenaar openly admired, and it captures both the heroicism and poetic character of Rostand's hero.