Dracula the Opera: A Profile of Composer Paul Ziemba

In the fall of 2004 I had the privilege of interviewing composer Paul Ziemba. The following article is the result of that interview.

This October (2004) those in the Buffalo, NY area will have the opportunity to see an operatic version of Dracula. The composer, Paul Ziemba, an engaging and enthusiastic individual, spent several years writing and perfecting this work.

Paul loves classical music, but especially music composed for the guitar, which is his favorite instrument. He has studied music for much of his life, but only turned to composing when he was in his mid-thirties and later wrote primarily for classical guitar. His introduction to writing longer plays came when he wrote a musical for the school his daughters attended.

His love of music coincides with his passion for reading, and one of his favorite novels is Bram Stoker’s Dracula, which was first published in 1887 and is still considered the classic vampire story to which most books are compared. the others. It occurred to Paul that although many movies and plays had been made, there had never been an opera about Count Dracula. His first step was to reread the book that he had enjoyed many years before. Then, in 1994, Paul began composing an opera based on Stoker’s novel. He felt that a classical romantic score would be better due to the gothic nature of the setting and plot, and because the story takes place in the late Victorian era.

There are two basic styles of opera. The common method is sung “through style”, where the music is continuous and largely without individual songs. The second, and more common, method is what Paul calls “song style,” which has a musical score divided into distinctly individual numbers. It is this style that he uses for Dracula, the Opera. The score includes a waltz, a polonaise, a mazurka, several romantic arias, a lively gypsy number, plus music to accompany several specially choreographed ballets. Here’s how Paul describes the score: “In all music, the melodic themes are distinct and often strongly developed depending on the scene, the setting, the story, and of course the characters.”

Stoker’s Count Dracula was a menacing fellow who clearly carried the stigma of evil. Of course, this was not obvious to most mortals, especially women he could easily attract. Only Dr. Abraham Van Helsing immediately knew the terrible danger he posed. By the time Van Helsing arrives, it’s too late to save poor, sweet Lucy, but luckily her friend Mina can still be rescued. Paul wanted his opera to closely follow Stoker’s story, however, like other writers, he wanted to present the Earl as a much more likeable character. He sees Dracula as a romantic and passionate nobleman who is cursed. Someone who has waited years for her long lost love and believes that he has found her reincarnated as Mina. When Mina finally rejects him, he is overwhelmed by her rejection. All of the novel’s main characters are present in the opera, including Renfield, who has a comedic number in which he sings while eating bugs.

Paul hasn’t read any other works of vampire fiction. Nothing could be better than the creation of Bram Stoker. However, he has seen some of the film adaptations of Dracula, most of which he admits are horrible. He still has a few favorites like Bela Lugosi’s performance in the 1931 film Horror of Dracula starring Christopher Lee, and finally director Francis Ford Coppola’s adaptation of Bram Stoker’s Dracula.

In academia, there is controversy over whether Stoker actually based his vampire character on Vlad Dracul’s son, widely known as Vlad the Impaler. The intrepid Mr. Z boldly expresses his opinion: “Vlad is best known as a tyrant who impaled people as a tactic to scare his enemies and his own citizens. None of this is mentioned in Stoker’s novel. Stoker chose to a local with the right mythology. and terrain that fit.” So here’s another vote in that never-ending debate for those who care about such minutiae.

This October’s performance of Dracula, the Opera composed by Paul Ziemba will be performed with a cast of 20 people and a small orchestra. Gary Sage will play Count Dracula, Maria Goodrich will play Mina Murray, Joshua Snyder will play Jonathan Harker, Steven Bednasz will play Renfield, and Uhriel Bedoya will play Dr. Van Helsing. The director is Heide Cornell. The ballet choreographer is Lisa Taylor. The musical director and conductor is Ivan Docenko.