Libretto in German Joseph Sonnleithner
November 28, 2021
10:27 AM
Fidelio which was
the result of a 12-year creative process, at the
end of which the composer had still not produced
a definitive version of the work.
Subsequent revisions by Stephan von Breuning and Georg Friedrich Treitschke
Premiere Performance in May 23 1814 at Karntnertortheater in Vienna, Austria
Leonore
Florestan
Don Pizzaro
While Fidelio is usually set in 18th century Spain, Manitoba Opera’s production will be set in
Germany around the time of the fall of the Berlin wall.
Fidelio is in fact Leonore, a woman who has come to the jail disguised as a boy to
find her husband, Florestan, a political prisoner languishing somewhere in chains.
Don Fernando, minister of state, is on his way to inspect the fortress
In 1804,
he turned his attention to writing an opera, Fidelio, which would celebrate courage in the
face of tyranny and freedom from oppression
he wrote the first version of the
libretto for Beethoven’s Fidelio, which was translated and adapted from
French play-wright Jean-Nicolas Bouilly’s piece Léonore
Sonnleithner consequently helped found the Gesellschaft der
Musikfreunde (Society of Friends of Music) in 1812.
The cumulative effect
is that of characters struggling mightily to communicate, singers battling their own limitations
and overcoming all odds in order to emerge victorious. The musical battle mirrors the narrative:
the triumph of good over evil through selfless acts of steadfast love against all odds.
Rescue Opera
Symphony No.9
Symphony No. 9 in D Minor is Beethoven’s final complete symphony and is now one of the most
well-known pieces of classical music. C ompleted in 1824, this was the first time that a major
composer used choral and vocal soloists within a symphony. The words in the finale of the Ninth
Symphony are borrowed from Friedrich Schiller’s poem Ode to Joy, which declares that “Alle
Menschen warden Brüder” (All men shall become brothers). The words and music yearn for
peace, joy, and the brotherhood of man.
It was in this spirit that conductor Leonard Bernstein led concerts of Beethoven’s Symphony No.
9 in West and East Berlin to commemorate the fall of the Berlin wall in 1989. Berstein took the
liberty of changing the word Freude (“joy”) to Freiheit (“freedom”), throughout the chorale.
Liberty, Equality, and Brotherhood
As we can see in Fidelio and many other of his works, Beethoven believed strongly in the ideals
of liberty, equality and brotherhood. These ideals are France’s national motto, which has its
origins in the French Revolution. It was during this period of social and political change in
Europe that Beethoven had begun composing Fidelio (1804). The French Revolution had just
ended (approx. 1789-1799), which marked the decline of powerful monarchies and churches
and brought on the rise of democracy and nationalism. As well, the Napoleonic Wars (approx.
1799-1815) were just beginning between Napoleon Bonaparte’s French Empire and various
opposing coalitions led by Great Britain. These events had a strong impact on Beethoven’s
political outlook and his works.
Symphony No.3
As Beethoven began working on Fidelio in 1804, he was also finishing S ymphony No.3. H e
originally dedicated the work to Napoleon and intended to name it The Bonaparte Symphony.
But when Beethoven heard the news that Napoleon had crowned himself Emperor of France,
he was upset that Napolean wasn’t the great liberator of the people whom he had thought he
was in the French Revolution. He quickly changed the name of his symphony to simply Eroica
(“heroic”).
Symphony No.9
Symphony No. 9 in D Minor is Beethoven’s final complete symphony and is now one of the most
well-known pieces of classical music. C ompleted in 1824, this was the first time that a major
composer used choral and vocal soloists within a symphony. The words in the finale of the Ninth
Symphony are borrowed from Friedrich Schiller’s poem Ode to Joy, which declares that “Alle
Menschen warden Brüder” (All men shall become brothers). The words and music yearn for
peace, joy, and the brotherhood of man.
It was in this spirit that conductor Leonard Bernstein led concerts of Beethoven’s Symphony No.
9 in West and East Berlin to commemorate the fall of the Berlin wall in 1989. Berstein took the
liberty of changing the word Freude (“joy”) to Freiheit (“freedom”), throughout the chorale.
More than a thousand people gathered in the hall to watch the celebratory performance at East
Berlin’s Schauspielhaus (theatre) on Christmas morning, and hundreds more stood outside in the
square. The concert was broadcast live to 20 countries and over 100 million people.
Fidelio
Like the 9th Symphony, Fidelio is often performed as a symbol of hope and freedom and
celebration of life. For example, in 1955 Fidelio was chosen to reopen the Vienna State Opera
following reconstruction after World War II bombings had devastated the theatre. Like Bernstein’s
“Ode to Freedom” concert, this performance of Fidelio was of special significance to its audience
given its historical context. Perhaps this is why Beethoven’s final version of Fidelio was finally
embraced by audiences in 1814, just as the Napoleonic Wars were coming to an end.