Melusina’s Curse: A Workshop Presentation

Please RSVP at https://partiful.com/events/YEDGP2wrDGhhy9XdYUm7

Come enjoy a workshop presentation of a musical project three years in the making! A wonderful musical ensemble will perform three songs, and in between, Jonathan will provide narrative context about Melusina based on his research in France, Luxembourg, and Germany. The one-hour presentation will be followed by a reception with light refreshments. 

When Jeanine Tesori assigned his songwriting class to compose a song based on folklore, Jonathan fell in love with the tale of Melusina. A half-fairy, half-human creature popular in the Middle Ages, Melusina is not your typical Disney fairy. She was cursed by her mother to turn into a snake from the waist down every Saturday. Her complex story grapples with the challenges of navigating generational trauma, disability, love, and discrimination. 

This senior project presentation has benefited from the generous support of the Abraham Beekman Cox Prize and the Joseph Lentilhon Selden Memorial Award. In addition, Jonathan’s summer research on Melusina was made possible by the John Boit Morse Memorial Fellowship and the Richter Summer Fellowship Award. Special thanks to his thesis advisers, Kathryn Alexander and Daniel Egan, as well as Ardis Butterfield, Anna Zayaruznaya, Charnice Hoegnifioh, and countless other friends and mentors.