"Fidelio", opera in two (originally three) acts, including "Leonore"-Overtures nos. 2-3 op. 72
Listening samples
Text poets
Composition
Version 1: ca. December 1803 to October 1805, version 2: December 1805 to March 1806, version 3: first half of 1814, première in late May
Even as an adolescent, Beethoven was very interested in literature and always looking for a suitable subject for an opera. In 1801, his successful ballet The Creatures of Prometheus brought him to the attention of Viennas theatre world. In early 1803, the director of the Theater an der Wien, Emanuel Schickaneder, asked him to compose an opera based on one of his librettos, Vestas Fire. Beethoven took a look at the textbook in late 1803, only to drop the project due to the poor quality of the text. In 1804, Baron Peter von Braun became the new theatre director and concluded a new contract with Beethoven for an opera: Leonore. The libretto, based on a successful subject from the French Revolution, had already been set to music several times. The French original by Jean Nicolas Bouilly was translated by Joseph Sonnleithner, a secretary at the Vienna Court Theatre.
After a long and productive working phase – a number of other great works originated between 1804 and 1805 – Beethoven finished the score of his first opera in autumn 1805. The première was scheduled for 15 October 1805, but was banned by the police censor in September 1805. Sonnleithner finally managed to convince the censoring authority to withdraw the ban, and the opera was mounted at the Theater an der Wien on 20 November 1805.
However, the piece failed and was dropped from the repertoire after only two performances. Among the many reasons for its failure was the unfortunate date: just one week earlier Napoleon's troops had occupied Vienna, and the Battle of Austerlitz took place only a fortnight later. The audience was comprised largely of French soldiers and officers who had little interest in a piece dealing with liberation from unjust captivity. On the other hand, the piece was still musically and dramatically underdeveloped, and there were too many long and weak episodes. As the critic Kotzebue wrote in Der Freimüthige on 14 January 1806: 'A new Beethoven opera, Fidelio or Conjugal Love, has not pleased. It was performed only a few times, and after the first performance the seats remained completely empty. [...] The melodies and the general character, much of which is affected, lack that happy, clear, magical impression of emotion which grips us so irresistibly in the works of Mozart and Cherubini.'
In December 1805 Beethoven decided to revise the opera: the plot was tightened and the former three acts changed into two. The popular and widespread anecdote told by Joseph August Röckel, that Beethoven adapted the opera against his will at the suggestion of friends and patrons, is far from true. He was well aware of Fidelio's weaknesses and voluntarily withdrew the opera to adapt it with the help of his friend Stephan von Breuning, who revised the libretto.
The second version of Fidelio was presented at the Theater an der Wien on 29 March and 10 April 1806. Although more successful this time, the opera was again dropped after the second performance because Beethoven withdrew the score after a dispute with the artistic director. The reason for the quarrel is not known, though perhaps it had to do with profit sharing. It was obviously Beethoven who aggravated the conflict. His only opera then sank into oblivion and was neither performed nor requested.
In 1807 a new production was planned at the Prague National Theatre for which Beethoven composed a new overture – Leonore no. 1 (op. 138) – and concentrated on a revision. As there are no records of this performance, it probably never took place.
In 1810 Beethoven had the vocal score and the Leonore Overture no. 3 printed, hoping to initiate a new production of his opera. Only in 1814 did the situation change. Beethoven was contacted by three stage managers of the court opera, Ignaz Saal, Johann Michael Vogl and Karl Friedrich Weinmüller. They were allowed to organise an opera performance without any cost to themselves and could freely chose the piece. Their choice fell on Fidelio. Beethoven agreed under the condition that he be allowed to thoroughly revise and adapt both the music and the text. This time he had the libretto virtually rewritten by a seasoned professional, the theatre manager Georg Friedrich Treitschke. The composer considered the adaptation laborious. In a letter to Treitschke, dated March 1814, he wrote: 'I could compose something new far more quickly than turn the old into the new [...]. The score of the opera has been more wretchedly copied than anything I have ever seen. I have to check it note for note (it was probably stolen). In brief, dear T., for this opera I deserve a martyrs crown' (quoted from the complete correspondence, 707). After yet another review and adaptation the final version of Fidelio version was premièred at last on 23 May 1814, and was hugely successful. However, the opera was not quite finished yet, and the new overture was only heard at the second performance on 26 May. Leonores new aria was presented to the audience eight weeks later at Beethovens charity concert on 18 June. (J.R.)
After a long and productive working phase – a number of other great works originated between 1804 and 1805 – Beethoven finished the score of his first opera in autumn 1805. The première was scheduled for 15 October 1805, but was banned by the police censor in September 1805. Sonnleithner finally managed to convince the censoring authority to withdraw the ban, and the opera was mounted at the Theater an der Wien on 20 November 1805.
However, the piece failed and was dropped from the repertoire after only two performances. Among the many reasons for its failure was the unfortunate date: just one week earlier Napoleon's troops had occupied Vienna, and the Battle of Austerlitz took place only a fortnight later. The audience was comprised largely of French soldiers and officers who had little interest in a piece dealing with liberation from unjust captivity. On the other hand, the piece was still musically and dramatically underdeveloped, and there were too many long and weak episodes. As the critic Kotzebue wrote in Der Freimüthige on 14 January 1806: 'A new Beethoven opera, Fidelio or Conjugal Love, has not pleased. It was performed only a few times, and after the first performance the seats remained completely empty. [...] The melodies and the general character, much of which is affected, lack that happy, clear, magical impression of emotion which grips us so irresistibly in the works of Mozart and Cherubini.'
In December 1805 Beethoven decided to revise the opera: the plot was tightened and the former three acts changed into two. The popular and widespread anecdote told by Joseph August Röckel, that Beethoven adapted the opera against his will at the suggestion of friends and patrons, is far from true. He was well aware of Fidelio's weaknesses and voluntarily withdrew the opera to adapt it with the help of his friend Stephan von Breuning, who revised the libretto.
The second version of Fidelio was presented at the Theater an der Wien on 29 March and 10 April 1806. Although more successful this time, the opera was again dropped after the second performance because Beethoven withdrew the score after a dispute with the artistic director. The reason for the quarrel is not known, though perhaps it had to do with profit sharing. It was obviously Beethoven who aggravated the conflict. His only opera then sank into oblivion and was neither performed nor requested.
In 1807 a new production was planned at the Prague National Theatre for which Beethoven composed a new overture – Leonore no. 1 (op. 138) – and concentrated on a revision. As there are no records of this performance, it probably never took place.
In 1810 Beethoven had the vocal score and the Leonore Overture no. 3 printed, hoping to initiate a new production of his opera. Only in 1814 did the situation change. Beethoven was contacted by three stage managers of the court opera, Ignaz Saal, Johann Michael Vogl and Karl Friedrich Weinmüller. They were allowed to organise an opera performance without any cost to themselves and could freely chose the piece. Their choice fell on Fidelio. Beethoven agreed under the condition that he be allowed to thoroughly revise and adapt both the music and the text. This time he had the libretto virtually rewritten by a seasoned professional, the theatre manager Georg Friedrich Treitschke. The composer considered the adaptation laborious. In a letter to Treitschke, dated March 1814, he wrote: 'I could compose something new far more quickly than turn the old into the new [...]. The score of the opera has been more wretchedly copied than anything I have ever seen. I have to check it note for note (it was probably stolen). In brief, dear T., for this opera I deserve a martyrs crown' (quoted from the complete correspondence, 707). After yet another review and adaptation the final version of Fidelio version was premièred at last on 23 May 1814, and was hugely successful. However, the opera was not quite finished yet, and the new overture was only heard at the second performance on 26 May. Leonores new aria was presented to the audience eight weeks later at Beethovens charity concert on 18 June. (J.R.)
