This is an incomplete list of music based on the works of

Oscar Wilde Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish poet and playwright. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular playwrights in London in the early 1890s. He is ...

. Oscar Wilde was an Irish playwright, poet, novelist, short story writer and wit, whose works have been the basis of a considerable number of musical works by noted composers. In classical genres, these include operas, ballets,

incidental music Incidental music is music in a play, television program, radio program, video game, or some other presentation form that is not primarily musical. The term is less frequently applied to film music, with such music being referred to instead as t ...

symphonic poem A symphonic poem or tone poem is a piece of orchestral music, usually in a single continuous movement, which illustrates or evokes the content of a poem, short story, novel, painting, landscape, or other (non-musical) source. The German term ''T ...

s, orchestral suites and single pieces,

cantata A cantata (; ; literally "sung", past participle feminine singular of the Italian verb ''cantare'', "to sing") is a vocal composition with an instrumental accompaniment, typically in several movements, often involving a choir. The meaning of ...

s, and songs and

song cycle A song cycle (german: Liederkreis or Liederzyklus) is a group, or cycle (music), cycle, of individually complete Art song, songs designed to be performed in a sequence as a unit.Susan Youens, ''Grove online'' The songs are either for solo voice ...

s. Of more recent times, some have been the subject of musicals and

film score A film score is original music written specifically to accompany a film. The score comprises a number of orchestral, instrumental, or choral pieces called cues, which are timed to begin and end at specific points during the film in order to ...

s. Some are direct settings of Wilde's words or libretti based on them, and some are wordless settings inspired by his writings.

List of works

The works of Oscar Wilde that have been set to music include:

The Ballad of Reading Gaol ''The Ballad of Reading Gaol'' is a poem by Oscar Wilde, written in exile in Berneval-le-Grand, after his release from Reading Gaol () on 19 May 1897. Wilde had been incarcerated in Reading after being convicted of gross indecency with other ...

Poem

Pete Doherty Peter Doherty (born 12 March 1979) is an English musician, songwriter, actor, poet, writer, and artist. He is best known for being co-frontman of The Libertines, which he formed with Carl Barât in 1997. His other musical projects are indie b ...

quotes the stanza beginning with "I never saw a man who looked/with such a wistful eye" in ''Broken Love Song'' on his solo album ''

Grace/Wastelands ''Grace/Wastelands'' is the debut solo album from Babyshambles frontman/The Libertines co-frontman Peter Doherty. It was released in Australia on 13 March 2009, in the UK on 16 March, and in the US on 24 March, with the single " Last of the Engl ...

''.

Les Ballons

''Les Ballons'' (''The Balloons'') is a short poem, the second of the two ''Fantaisies Décoratives'', the first being ''Le Panneau'' (''The Panel'').

The Birthday of the Infanta

Short story

The Canterville Ghost

Short story (1887) ;Popular music *The Austrian metal band

Edenbridge Edenbridge may mean: * Edenbridge (band), a symphonic metal band from Austria *Edenbridge, Kent, a town in England *Edenbridge, Saskatchewan, a former Jewish settlement in Canada *Humber Valley Village Humber Valley Village is a neighbourhood lo ...

recorded two songs on their 2004 album " Shine;" an instrumental intro track, "The Canterville Prophecy," and the song "The Canterville Ghost."

De Profundis

Letter

Endymion

Poem

E Tenebris

Poem. Included in his collection ''Rosa Mystica''.

A Florentine Tragedy

Blank verse play. Premiered not in England, but at the Deutsches Theater in Berlin, 12 January 1906, in a German translation by Max Meyerfeld. The London premiere was on 10 June 1906.

La Fuite de la Lune

''La Fuite de la Lune'' (''The Flight of the Moon'') is the second of the two poems in ''Impressions'', the first being ''Les Silhouettes''.

The Happy Prince

Short story

The Harlot's House

Poem

An Ideal Husband

Play

The Importance of Being Earnest

Play

Impression du matin

Poem

Impression: Le Réveillon

Poem

Le Jardin

Poem

Lady Windermere's Fan

Play

Lord Arthur Savile's Crime

Short story

Madonna mia

Poem. Included in his collection ''Rosa Mystica''.

La Mer

Poem

The Nightingale and the Rose

Story

The Picture of Dorian Gray

Novel (1890) Popular music *Post-punk band

Television Personalities The Television Personalities are an English post-punk band formed in 1977 by London singer-songwriter Dan Treacy.Earp, Joseph.The Missing Man Of Music: A Search For The Elusive Dan Treacy Of Television Personalities. ''The Brag'', 26 July 2016 ...

recorded a song titled "A Picture of Dorian Gray" for their 1981 album '' ...And Don't the Kids Just Love It''. The song was covered by

The Futureheads The Futureheads are an English post-punk band from Sunderland, formed in 2000. The band consists of Ross Millard (vocals and guitar), David "Jaff" Craig (vocals and bass guitar) and brothers Barry Hyde (vocals and guitar) and Dave Hyde (drums). ...

on their 2003 EP ''

1-2-3-Nul! ''1-2-3-Nul!'' is an EP by British band The Futureheads The Futureheads are an English post-punk band from Sunderland, formed in 2000. The band consists of Ross Millard (vocals and guitar), David "Jaff" Craig (vocals and bass guitar) and bro ...

''. *Prog band

Nirvana ( , , ; sa, निर्वाण} ''nirvāṇa'' ; Pali: ''nibbāna''; Prakrit: ''ṇivvāṇa''; literally, "blown out", as in an oil lampRichard Gombrich, ''Theravada Buddhism: A Social History from Ancient Benāres to Modern Colombo.' ...

(UK) released a 1981 single titled "The Picture of Dorian Gray". * "Tears And Rain" by popstar

James Blunt James Blunt (born James Hillier Blount; 22 February 1974) is an English singer, songwriter and musician. A former reconnaissance officer in the Life Guards regiment of the British Army, he served under NATO during the 1999 Kosovo War. After l ...

features the line: 'Hides my true shape, like Dorian Gray' from ''

Back to Bedlam ''Back to Bedlam'' is the debut studio album by the English singer-songwriter James Blunt, released on 11 October 2004 through Atlantic Records. It is named after the famous psychiatric institution of Bethlem Royal Hospital, which is commonly ...

'' (2003) *

The Libertines The Libertines are an English rock band, formed in London in 1997 by frontmen Carl Barât (vocals/guitar) and Pete Doherty (vocals/guitar). The band, centred on the songwriting partnership of Barât and Doherty, has also included John Hassall ...

' song "Narcissist", from their 2004 album ''

'', includes the line in the chorus, 'Wouldn't it be nice to be Dorian Gray, just for a day'. * Demons & Wizards recorded a song entitled "Dorian" on their 2005 album "

Touched by the Crimson King ''Touched by the Crimson King'' is the second album by the power metal supergroup Demons and Wizards, released in June 2005. The album contains a cover of Led Zeppelin's " Immigrant Song." It was also released as a limited edition digipak in ...

." *

Kill Hannah Kill Hannah was an American rock band formed in 1993 in Chicago, Illinois. The band released six studio albums, seven EPs, and two compilation albums as well as three DVDs. History Kill Hannah was formed by singer-songwriter Mat Devine in 1 ...

's song "Scream", from their 2006 album ''

Until There's Nothing Left of Us ''Until There's Nothing Left of Us'' is Kill Hannah's fifth full-length studio album and their second album on major label, Atlantic Records. The first single from the album was " Lips Like Morphine", released before the album came out. The vide ...

'', includes the line, 'Enacting Sybil Vane in some tragic play'. *

Styx In Greek mythology, Styx (; grc, Στύξ ) is a river that forms the boundary between Earth (Gaia) and the Underworld. The rivers Acheron, Cocytus, Lethe, Phlegethon, and Styx all converge at the centre of the underworld on a great marsh, whic ...

's song "

Sing for the Day "Sing for the Day'" is the second single that Styx released from their album ''Pieces of Eight''. It reached #41 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 pop singles chart in February 1979. It was later the B-side of their next single “Renegade”. Tommy ...

" references the titular character with the line, 'ageless and timeless as Dorian Gray'. *

William Control William Control is an American electronic music project founded in 2008 in Seattle, Washington. It was the side project of Aiden's William Francis before Aiden's hiatus, and he later operated as William Control full-time. 'William Control' th ...

titled a track on their 2010 album '' Noir'' after the protagonist * "Ballad of Dorian Gray", a song by

Michael Peter Smith Michael Peter Smith (September 7, 1941 – August 3, 2020) was an American, Chicago-based singer-songwriter. ''Rolling Stone'' once called him "The greatest songwriter in the English language". Mark Guarino of '' Chicago Reader'' wrote, "He ne ...

* "The Picture of Dorian Gray", a song by Cherry Five * "Portrait", a song by

Alt-J Alt-J (stylised as alt-J, real name Δ) are an English indie rock band formed in 2007 in Leeds. Their lineup includes Joe Newman (guitar/lead vocals), Thom Sonny Green (drums), Gus Unger-Hamilton (keyboards/vocals), and formerly Gwilym Sainsbur ...

* "Vincent", a song by

Don McLean Donald McLean III (born October 2, 1945) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. He is best known for his 1971 hit song " American Pie", an eight-and-a-half-minute folk rock "cultural touchstone" about the loss of innocence of the early ...

references Wilde's story "The Nightingale and the Rose" with the line "A silver thorn, a bloody rose." * Gothic metal band

Pyogenesis Pyogenesis is a German metal band based in Stuttgart that played different genres of music such as death metal, alternative metal, punk rock, and gothic metal, which they were credited for their part in originating the latter genre in the e ...

recorded a song titled "I Have Seen My Soul" based on the novel for their 2017 album "A Kingdom to Disappear"

Requiescat

Poem (1874), included in his collection ''Rosa Mystica''. ''Requiescat'' was written at

Avignon Avignon (, ; ; oc, Avinhon, label=Provençal dialect, Provençal or , ; la, Avenio) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Vaucluse Departments of France, department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region of So ...

seven years after his sister, Isola, died (23 February 1867), less than two months before her 10th birthday. Wilde was 12 at the time of her death.

La Sainte Courtisane

Play (fragment; 1893)

Salome

Play

The Selfish Giant

Short story

Sonnet on hearing the ''Dies Irae'' sung in the Sistine Chapel

Poem

The Sphinx

Poem

Symphony in Yellow

Poem

Poisoned Youth

Song

Unclassified

References

Sources

Eric Blom Eric Walter Blom (20 August 188811 April 1959) was a Swiss-born British-naturalised music lexicographer, music critic and writer. He is best known as the editor of the 5th edition of ''Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' (1954). Biogr ...

ed., ''Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians'', 5th ed., 1954 {{DEFAULTSORT:Music Based On The Works Of Oscar Wilde Oscar Wilde Adaptations of works by Oscar Wilde

Wilde Wilde is a surname. Notable people with the name include: In arts and entertainment In film, television, and theatre * ''Wilde'' a 1997 biographical film about Oscar Wilde * Andrew Wilde (actor), English actor * Barbie Wilde (born 1960), Canadi ...