The “Complete” Beethoven

During the winter and spring of 1814, Beethoven worked on a new revision to his opera Fidelio (which he previously often preferred to call Leonore). Earlier versions of the opera were staged in 1805 (Day 188) and 1806 (Day 191).

In 280 characters, Fidelio is about a woman (Leonore) who disguises herself as a man (Fidelio) to get work at a prison and rescue her husband Florestan, who is being held as a political prisoner. What begins as a wife’s love for her husband becomes a universal plea for freedom.

Beethoven had a new librettist for the third version of Fidelio. Judging by his correspondence with Georg Friedrich Treitschke, they got along very well. In March Beethoven wrote:

I have read with great pleasure your corrections for the opera. And now I feel more firmly resolved to rebuild the desolate ruins of an old castle. (Emily Anderson, Beethoven Letters, No. 469)

In an April letter to Treitschke, Beethoven’s castle metaphor had become a ship:

I assure you, dear T, that this opera will win for me a martyr’s crown. Had you not taken so much trouble with it and revised everything so satisfactorily, for which I shall ever be grateful to you, I would hardly bring myself to do my share — but by your work you have salvaged a few good bits of a ship that was wrecked and stranded —
Meanwhile if you think that the delay is becoming excessive, then postpone the opera to some time later on. As for me, I shall continue to work until it is completely finished and, what is more, exactly in the way you have altered and improved everything, an achievement which every moment I am recognizing more and more. But I cannot work as quickly as if I were composing a new work — and to finish it in a fortnight is quite impossible — Do as you think best, but act also as a friend of mine. My zeal will not fail you. (Beethoven Letters No. 479)

Opera composition was not something that came naturally to Beethoven. On 14 May, he wrote to Treitschke:

Let me add that this whole opera business is the most tiresome affair in the world, for I am dissatisfied with most of it — and — there is hardly a number in it which my present dissatisfaction would not have to patch up here and there with some satisfaction — Well, that is a very different thing from being able to indulge in free meditation or inspiration. (Beethoven Letters No. 481)

Treitschke and Beethoven made numerous changes to the libretto and the music of Fidelio, both minor and major . See the Cambridge Opera Handbooks volume on Fidelio, pp. 43–50 for a detailed summary.

The 1814 version of Fidelio is the one we’ve come to know and love.

Based on the numbering of the musical parts of Leonore 1805 (Day 188), Fidelio has the following order:

Act 1: Nos. 2, 1, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12

Act 2: Nos 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18

Beethoven also composed another Overture for the new 1814 version.

For Act 1 of the 1814 Fidelio, Marzelline’s opening Aria and her duet with Jaquino were swapped, allowing the duet to function as a much smoother and more engaging entrance into the opera. Rocco’s “Gold” aria from the 1805 version was restored. Eliminated were an early Trio with Marzelline, Leonore, and Rocco (No. 3) and a second Duet with Marzelline and Leonore (No. 10). These changes tended to get the domestic entanglement part of the story out of the way as quickly as possible to focus on Florestan's plight.

The structure of Act 2 of Fidelio remained basically the same as earlier versions, but in his opening Aria, Florestan has a vision of Leonore. Towards the end, a change of scenery allows a transition from the darkness of the dungeon to the liberating lightness of outdoors.

Google Book Search has three public-domain Fidelio librettos:

#Beethoven250 Day 266
Fidelio (Opus 72), 1814

Karl Böhm leads a wonderful cast in this accomplished 1970 film later released on VHS by DGG. An English plot summary during the Overture is followed by music subtitles in Spanish. (Ad warning!)

Maynard Solomon describes how the message of Fidelio had changed over the years:

If in 1805–6 Fidelio could be understood as a rescue opera expressive of Enlightened belief in the triumph of nobility over evil, in 1814 the work unfolded fresh implications that accelerated its popular acceptance. The new version could readily be perceived as a celebration of the victory over the Napoleonic forces and as an allegory of the liberation of Europe from a contemporary tyrant and usurper. (Beethoven, p. 288)

#Beethoven250 Day 266
Fidelio (Opus 72), 1814

This video is missing the first couple seconds of the Overture (and the sound is poor), but color-coded English subtitles have been added to this 1978 live Bernstein performance. (Ad warning!)

#Beethoven250 Day 266
Fidelio (Opus 72, “Komm, Hoffnung”), 1814

Sopranos sometimes sing Leonore’s Act 1 Aria “Komm, Hoffnung” (“Come, Hope”) in recital with piano accompaniment.

#Beethoven250 Day 266
Fidelio (Opus 72, “O welche Lust!”), 1814

The Act 1 Prisoner’s Chorus “O welche Lust!” (“Oh what joy”) rarely sounds so moving as when sung by incarcerated men and women.

Even after Fidelio has been premiered and performed several times, Beethoven’s affection for Georg Friedrich Treitschke did not ebb. He gave Treitschke one-quarter of the proceeds from the opera and in a September letter called him “dear brother poet, dear brother in Apollo.”

In an article about Ruth Bader Ginsburg as an opera fan, Francesca Zambello told about a Fidelio that she had directed:

R.B.G. wrote me a letter that it was the best “Fidelio” she’d ever seen. She said I got close to what Beethoven wanted ... She related to it as a woman and a feminist. “You told the story of what women do,” she said.

[nytimes.com/2020/09/19/art…]