Hidden treasures - Ludwig van Beethoven - Leonore (1805) - Selected highlights

Painting: "Italian landscape" by Ivan Aivazovsky.

History (based on materials from http://www.allmusic.com/): Though Beethoven's only opera, "Fidelio", was rapturously received at its 1814 premiere, the work the audience heard was actually the third version of the score. After being appointed in 1803 composer at the Theater an der Wien and rejecting the idea of writing the opera "Vestas Feuer", Beethoven concentrated his efforts on setting a libretto adapted by Joseph Sonnleithner from Bouilly's "Leonore" which had already attracted such famous composers as Mayr and Paer. A later reversed dismissal from the theatre and a cancelled ban of the first planned performance of the work notwithstanding, the new opera's first performance suffered from an audience consisting mostly of French soldiers who have occupied Vienna just one week before the premiere. Thus, the opera was staged amid inauspicious circumstances and to little acclaim. At first, Beethoven was adamantly against any revisions, but eventually reworked the work twice with Stephan Breuning (1806) and, ultimately, Georg Treitschke (1814). Both times the opera was heavily rewritten: the three separate overtures aside, in 1806 the opera's three acts were condensed to two with numerous musical cuts, while in "The composer's cut" of 1814 some numbers were abandoned completely with new music inserted in select places. It is the final 1814 version that is best known to modern audiences.

Narrative: The plot of "Leonore" is pure melodrama and one of the vintage examples of a rescue opera: Leonore (soprano), wife of supposedly long-dead state official Florestan (tenor), has disguised herself as a young man, Fidelio, under the guise of whom she gains access to a prison near Seville in search of her husband. The governor of the institution, Pizzaro (baritone), is actually the man who has kept Florestan locked up for political reasons. Through the help of the initially clueless prison warden, Rocco (bass), Leonore ultimately prevents the murder of Florestan, and the lovers are reunited as a veritable coup against Pizarro is legitimized by the timely arrival of Don Fernando (bass), Minister of State. Despite the supposed dramatic strength of the libretto, the plot and the text are actually unexceptional: there is a distinct lack of a strong villain (Pizarro's empty rhetoric is not a real substitute) and the characters, in other hands, would remain rather lifeless. However, Beethoven proves that one can work with any material to create something genuinely touching...

Music: The latter "Fidelio" is undeniably a dramatically more coherent work; plus, the original poor finish to Act II is replaced with a much more engaging scene in 1814. However, "Leonore", for all its flaws, is a much warmer and human drama. One cannot deny the fact that the composer takes up a rather commonplace plot and turns it into a strikingly fiery work. With "Leonore" Beethoven basically establishes the German romantic tradition already hinted in Mozart's "Die Zauberfloten" and subsequently taken to new heights by Weber, Schubert and Mendelssohn. The accompaniments are both handsome and subtle (with the orchestra almost becoming another character at times) and the melodies are extremely attractive (one could not find a better example than the justly famous canon of Act I). The highlights are endless: while Florestan does not have his latter "vision of Leonore", his grand scene is much more lyrical with the final measures, as the hero falls to sleep, beautifully understated; the prolonged exposition is actually a superb invocation of unpretentious family life, ranging from the humorous chattering of Marzelline and Jaquino to the clear, beautifully varied quartettino; Leonore's torment is given vent in a highly romantic horn-laden aria which, effectively, forms the watershed between the idealistic opening and the darker dungeon scene; the lovers share an ecstatic duet which combines both flights of passion and lyric episodes of great sensitivity. What truly speaks in favour of the original is, however, the sublime concentrato finale of Act III which is an infinitely more enchanting piece that the loud and nationalistic apotheosis that was composed for the 1814. While both versions of Beethoven's opera are indispensable, the original is the more spontaneous and immediate work.

Recording: The 1997 Archiv Produktion recording is a wonderful achievement in all respects: Gardiner paces the score superbly, providing ideal leadership to unite in a torrent of inspired musicianship the clear Orchestre revolutionnaire et romantique, the gorgeous Monteverdi Choir and a flawless cast.

Don Fernando - Alastair Miles,
Don Pizzaro - Matthew Best,
Florestan - Kim Begley,
Leonore - Hillevi Martinpelto,
Rocco - Franz Hawlata,
Marzelline (soprano), Roccos daughter - Christiane Oelze,
Jaquino (tenor), a jailor - Michael Schade.

Hope you'll enjoy :).

Category:

Music

Tags:

• belcanto
• classical
• classic
• romantic
• beethoven

[Teonareine]

Wonderful music. Indeed, that work is less known.

Too bad they do not know who plays.

[LindoroRossini]

@Teonareine: If you were wondering about the cast of the recording, check the notes, I've just added all the information (it is Gardiner's 1997 recording of the score) :).

[ExNihiloJimmy]

@spiritualf HAHAHAHAH just kidding

[spiritualf]

@ExNihiloJimmy Now that's a bad joke bastard!

[MastersoftheOpera]

This was beautiful; the singing was so heavenly. Thank you for sharing this.

[ExNihiloJimmy]

Beethoven's most used word "what"?