Fidelio

Fidelio, by Ludwig van Beethoven (1770–1827), is sometimes referred to as the composer’s solitary dream. Even though he intensely wished to create an opera, and having considered more than 50 subjects, Beethoven ultimately merely wrote just a single piece in the genre. The libretto to Fidelio was furnished to the composer by his friend Joseph Sonnleithner (1765–1835), who translated into German and adapted the French text Leonora ou l’amour conjugal, penned by Jean-Nicolas Bouilly (1763–1842). The story of the political prisoner Florestan and his brave wife Leonore, an apotheosis of marital live and fidelity, as well as the idea of justice and pan-human brotherhood, presently impressed Beethoven. Nonetheless, setting a profound ethical message not for symphony or chamber rendition but for a theatre stage, with which he had no previous experience, proved to be a truly formidable task.

Sung in German, Czech and English subtitles.