FIDELIO
Opera in 2 acts by Ludwig van Beethoven
Libretto by Joseph Sonnleithner, revised by Stephan von Breuning & Georg Friedrich Treitschke, based on Léonore ou l’Amour conjugal by Jean-Nicolas Bouilly.
First performed after two previous versions at Theater am Kärntertor in Vienna on 23 Mai 1814.
New production
At the Grand Théâtre de Genève
June 10-June 25, 2015
Sung in German with English and French surtitles
Imprisonment, the thirst for liberty and the blind determination of a passionate love: Leonore is ready to do anything to save her husband Florestan, held prisoner by the cruel governor Don Pizarro whose evil actions he had denounced. From the dark depths of his dungeon, she will bring Florestan back to the light of day. Beethoven’s one and only opera, Fidelio, has an aura of which very few works of the lyric repertory can boast. As in the Ninth Symphony, Beethoven’s idealism radiates throughout the work, which he spent ten years composing. A hymn to universal values, Fidelio’s message is a powerful reminder that, even when subject to the most cruel tyrants, human beings must never give up hope, as it is their only way to achieve liberty. Making use of elements drawn from oratorio, Singspiel and rescue opera, Fidelio goes beyond the usual categories of genre to constitute a magnificent work of art and a fine example of our world’s cultural heritage.
Musical Director | Pinchas Steinberg |
Stage Director | Matthias Hartmann |
Set Designer | Raimund Orfeo Voigt |
Costume Designer | Tina Kloempken |
Lighting Designer | Tamás Bányai |
Don Fernando | Günes Gürle |
Don Pizarro | Detlef Roth |
Florestan | Christian Elsner |
Leonore | Elena Pankratova |
Rocco | Albert Dohmen |
Marzelline | Siobhan Stagg |
Jaquino | Manuel Günther |
First Prisoner | José Pazos |
Second Prisoner | Romaric Braun |
Grand Théâtre Opera Chorus
Director Alan Woodbridge
Orchestre de la Suisse Romande