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Abstract
Many flutists are familiar with Francois Borne’s Carmen Fantasie, Franz and Karl Doppler’s Rigoletto Fantasie, and Paul Taffanel’s Mignon and Der Freischütz Fantasies. While these virtuosic showpieces have been favorites of the flute repertoire for decades, they only represent a small portion of a much larger body of repertoire. There are over 300 extant opera fantasies that feature the flute which have been arranged by over 120 composers and feature motives and themes from over 130 operas.
In addition to discussing the context in which the opera fantasy became so popular in the nineteenth century, this document intends to serve as a reference work for flutists by suggesting a proposed process for analyzing and performing opera fantasies and cataloging known and lost opera fantasies written for the flute. It also proposes why opera fantasies fell out of favor in the twentieth century, and presents justification for their continued relevance, pedagogical implications, and newfound popularity in the flute repertoire today.
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