The New

Dictionary of

OPERAE-Lom

{Leonore, oder Der Triumph der ehelichen^eonore, or The Triumph of Married Love')].

Opera in two (originally three) acts by LUDWIG VANBEETHOVEN to a libretto by JOSEPH VON SONNLEITHNER(1805), with revisions by STEPHAN VON BREUNING(1806) and GEORG FRIEDRICH TREITSCHKE (1814), afterJEAN-NICOLAS BouiLLY's French libretto Leonore, ouL'amour conjugal; Vienna, Theater an der Wien, 20November 1805 (first version); Theater an der Wien, 29March 1806 (second version); Karntnertortheater, 23May 1814 (final version).

At some time in the early part of 1803 Beethovenmoved into an apartment in the Theater an der Wienand began work on his first opera; the libretto wasVestas Feuer, by the theatre's director EmanuelSchikaneder. By January 1804 he had abandoned thisproject and taken up a new libretto, Leonore, ou

Florestan a prisoner tenorLeonore his wife and assistant to Rocco under

the name of Fidelio sopranoRocco gaoler bassMarzelline his daughter sopranoJaquino assistant to Rocco tenorDon Pizarro governor of a state prison bass-baritoneDon Fernando minister and Spanish nobleman bass

Soldiers, prisoners, townspeople

Setting A Spanish prison not far from Seville

L'amour conjugal. This drama by J.-N. Bouilly had beenset by Pierre Gaveaux in 1798 and was also set in Italiantranslation by Ferdinando Paer in 1804 and SimonMayr in 1805. Beethoven worked from a German ver-sion translated and enlarged by the Viennese courtsecretary Joseph von Sonnleithner. The choice wasprobably influenced both by the recent success in Viennaof another, very similar drama by Bouilly, Les deuxjournees, in a setting by Cherubini, and by theattractiveness of the subject matter, whose themes of un-deserved suffering and heroic resolve were very much inBeethoven's mind at about this time.

Composition of the opera continued through much of1804 and 1805, and last-minute difficulties with thecensors delayed the premiere until 20 November 1805.The principal singers were the soprano Anna Milder asLeonore and the tenor Friedrich Christian Demmer asFlorestan. There were only three performances. Viennawas under occupation by French troops, and many ofBeethoven's supporters had left the city. The opera wasalso felt to be too long, and Beethoven was persuaded toabridge and alter it slightly. A revised version in tworather than three acts, with Rocco's aria omitted andother sections shortened and rearranged (see Table 1),was performed on 29 March and 10 April 1806, withJoseph Rockel replacing Demmer as Florestan. To avoidconfusion with the operas of Gaveaux and Paer, thetheatre had insisted on the title Fidelio in the 1805 and1806 productions; Beethoven himself preferredLeonore, and that title appears in the 1806 libretto

Fidelio

however was not ready until the second performance. Avocal score prepared by Ignaz Moscheles appeared in1814; no full score was published until 1826.

The most famous of 19th-century singers to achievesuccess with Fidelio was Wllhelmine Schroder-Devrient,whose performances as Leonore starting in 1822exerted a powerful effect on a younger generation ofmusicians (for illustration see SCHRODER-DEVRIENT,WILHELMINE). The complicated genesis of the opera wasdiscussed by Otto Jahn, Alexander Thayer and GustavNottebohm in the 1860s and 70s, but a revival of thefirst version was not attempted until 1905, on thecentenary of the premiere. There have been manymodern recordings of the final version, perhaps mostfamously with Jon Vickers in the role of Florestan. Thefirst version has also been recorded.

A courtyard of the prison Marzelline is,presses her on the subject of marriage

(duet, 'Jetzt, Schatzchen'). She rejects his pleas, for shehas fallen in love with Fidelio, her father's new assistant('O war ich schon mit dir vereint'). Rocco enters;Leonore, in her disguise as Fidelio, follows, laden withchains and supplies. Rocco takes Fidelio's hard work asa sign of interest in Marzelline (quartet in canon, led byMarzelline, 'Mir ist so wunderbar!'; Fidelio and Jaquinoexpress anxious thoughts). Rocco encourages theromance, but cautions that a successful marriagerequires money ('Hat man nicht auch Gold beineben').Fidelio tests Rocco's trust by asking to accompany himto the subterranean cell where a prisoner is kept who shesuspects may be her husband, Florestan ('Gut,Sohnchen, gut').

l.ii [Act 2, 1805 version] A courtyard of theprison To the sound of a march, the soldiers enter.Pizarro follows. He reads the dispatches, which includea letter warning or a surprise visit by the minister toquestion him about prisoners being held without cause.Having imprisoned Fiorestan for political reasons (onlyvaguely specified), Pizarro is forced to act. He stations atrumpeter in the tower and resolves to take his revengeat once (aria with chorus, 'Ha! welch ein Augenblick!').Pizarro calls Rocco aside and attempts, unsuccessfully,to enlist his aid in the murder (duet, 'Jetzt, Alter, jetzthat es Eile!'). The men leave. Leonore, who has observedthem plotting, curses Pizarro and reaffirms her hopeand her own resolve (accompanied recitative,'Abscheulicher! Wo eilst du hm?'; ana in two sections,'Komm, Hoffnung', 'Ich folg' dem innern Triebe').Rocco and Marzelline enter, and Leonore (now in herrole as Fidelio again) persuades Rocco to allow some ofthe prisoners out into the open air. They emerge andsing in praise of freedom ('O welche Lust!'); this beginsthe finale to Act 1. Rocco tells Fidelio that he hasobtained permission for the marriage to Marzelline. Hewill also be permitted to take Fidelio to the cell of themysterious prisoner, whose grave they must prepare.Jaquino and Marzelline rush in and warn of Pizarro'sarrival. Pizarro is enraged by Rocco's presumption inletting the prisoners out, but Rocco deflects the anger byciting the king's name-day and noting that one prisonerhas remained inside. The prisoners return to their cells('Leb wohl, du warmes Sonnenlicht').^ -- ""̂

/ACT 2.1 \t 3, 1805 version] A subterraneanT»W— Afi^ orchestral introduction depicts the bleaknessof the scene. In an accompanied recitative Florestancurses the darkness but accepts God's will ('Gott! welch'

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