Ludwig van Beethoven’s (1770-1827) only opera “Fidelio” is a lyrical drama in two acts, on whose original score the composer worked between 1803 and 1805. Since the work literally fell through with the audience at its premiere at the Theater an der Wien, and since the revised version (with the changed title “Leonore”) was also only moderately received at the same location, Beethoven rewrote it a third time. Today, this last version is usually performed all over the world.
The number opera with spoken dialogues is based on a commission from Peter Freiherr von Braun, who was at that time the director of the Theater an der Wien. Beethoven’s original idea was to adapt a model by Emanuel Schikaneder, “Vestas Feuer”. But ultimately he decided to write a “rescue and liberation opera”, whose genre was very successful in Europe at the end of the 18th and also still at the beginning of the 19th century. Here, Beethoven composed a monument to the principles of political freedom, justice and brotherhood, which are directed against all tyranny, by rescuing an innocent hero from extreme hardship.
In more recent times, the opera has been performed on special occasions and has been staged in some cases in an explosive manner. Among other events, the Vienna State Opera, which was bombed in World War II, was symbolically reopened with this production in 1955, expressing Beethoven’s high human ideals and ethical vision.