Theatre On The Hill is proud to present the Opening Night of
Act 2 of Beethoven's only opera, Fidelio.
Thursday, 24 September at 1300 SLT. The performance lasts about an hour, and features favourite TOTH stars,
with a special "cast of thousands"
(actually, a dozen!) for the chorus.
Fidelio
(originally named Leonore, oder Der Triumph der ehelichen Liebe; English:
Leonore, or The Triumph of Married Love), Opus 72, is a German opera with
spoken dialogue by Ludwig van Beethoven, his only opera. The German libretto
was originally prepared by Joseph Sonnleithner from the French of Jean-Nicolas
Bouilly and the work premiered at Vienna's Theater an der Wien on 20 November
1805. The next year Stephan von Breuning helped shorten the three acts to two.
After further work on the libretto by Georg Friedrich Treitschke a final
version performed at the Kärntnertortheater on 23 May 1814. By convention both
of the first two versions are referred to as Leonore.
The opera tells
how Leonore, disguised as a prison guard named "Fidelio", rescues her
husband Florestan from death in a political prison. Bouilly's scenario fits
Beethoven's aesthetic and political outlook: a story of personal sacrifice,
heroism and eventual triumph with its underlying struggle for liberty and
justice mirroring contemporary political movements in Europe. Some notable
moments in the opera include the "Prisoners' Chorus", an ode to
freedom sung by a chorus of political prisoners, Florestan's vision of Leonore
come as an angel to rescue him, and the scene in which the rescue finally takes
place. The finale celebrates Leonore's bravery with alternating contributions
of soloists and chorus.
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