The Gadfly Suite is taken from music used for the 1955 Soviet film which in turn was based on the novel by Ethel Lilian Voynich, first published in 1897.
The novel was a bestseller in the Soviet Union, and is set in 1840s in the Austria-dominated Italian Risorgimento, focusing on revolution. Arthur – the Gadfly – is an English Catholic who travels to Italy to become a priest. He is a Romantic tragic hero who fights against the injustices of the world.
Shostakovich was a prolific film composer, writing over thirty soundtracks. Given the period of the film, he uses Verdi- and Bellini-esque ideas.
Atovmian arranged Shostakovich’s music into the Suite we know today, including movements such as the Contredanse, Barrel Organ Waltz, Nocturne, and Galop, but it’s the Romance for which the Suite is best known today. It’s shares a style with the Méditation from Jules Massenet’s opera Thaïs.
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