‘Fidelio’: Beethoven’s Only Opera

An illustration by Ange Louis Janet of Act 3 of Beethoven's "Fidelio," as it was performed at Theatre Lyrique in 1860. (Public Domain)

Ludwig van Beethoven is the undisputed master of the symphony. It was always the great ambition of his life, however, to compose opera. Opera was not only a high-status genre, it was big business, and Beethoven dreamed of mixing commercial and artistic success there.

His big opportunity came in 1804. Two rival Viennese theater directors, Baron Braun and Emmanuel Schikaneder, each wanted Beethoven to give them something for the musical stage. Braun and Schikanender ran competing opera houses and had both previously staged Mozart’s “Magic Flute” to great success. When Braun bought out Schikanender’s Theater-an-der-Wien, he retained his competitor, and the two men got together to commission Beethoven to write something.

The end result, “Fidelio,” was the only opera Beethoven ever pulled off. But it’s one of the best.

The playbill to an 1814 performance of the third and final version of "Fidelio." (Public Domain)

Something New, But Not Original

“Fidelio” tells the story of Leonore, whose husband, Florestan, has been jailed as a political prisoner near Seville, Spain. To rescue him, Leonore infiltrates the prison while disguised as a young man, Fidelio. She gains the trust of the jailer and his daughter, who falls in love with Fidelio, unaware that “he” is really a she. Meanwhile, the tyrannical governor Don Pizarro plots to kill Florestan in order to conceal his own crimes from an upcoming inspection. Leonore must navigate the jail and stop Pizarro in time to save her husband. In the end, love overcomes cruelty and justice is celebrated.

The plot wasn’t  original. The librettist of “Fidelio,” Joseph Sonnleithner, adapted it from an earlier opera, “Leonora,” by Jean-Nicolas Bouilly. Beethoven and Sonnleithner were not unique in this, as several other opera composers had also appropriated the work by this time.

Especially before the days of copyright, taking material from previous sources wasn’t seen as stealing nor did it hamper an artist’s originality. Previous adaptations of “Fidelio” are now only remembered as the inspiration for Beethoven’s masterpiece.

Beethoven Anticipates Wagner

Even if he took the plot from elsewhere, Beethoven infused his version of the love story with unmatched emotional depth and power. Though he never married, his imagination amply supplied for what he lacked in experience.

His orchestration bears a similarity to his symphonic works. In fact, Beethoven’s sketch book contains ideas for the “Fifth Symphony” that he jotted down while drafting ideas for Fidelio’s dungeon scene in Act 2.

Previous composers had largely used the orchestra to accompany the singers, Beethoven gave it a richer, more complex role integral to the unfolding drama. He employed subtle leitmotifs for different characters and themes, an innovation that Richard Wagner later developed.  Leonore’s arias contain dramatic melodies that reflect her resolve, highlighted prominently with French horns; the hopeful suffering of her husband, Florestan, is conveyed with melancholy violins. Trombones, trumpets, and staccato strings express Pizarro’s menacing nature.

‘Fidelio’ in Performance

Fidelio premiered in Vienna in November of 1805, shortly after Napoleon occupied the city. Few Viennese attended, and the audience was mostly made up of unappreciative French soldiers. There were only three performances before the disappointed composer withdrew it.

Beethoven was every bit as difficult and unruly as his wild-haired portrait by Joseph Stieler suggests. Some friends suggested the opera was too long and that he should revise the score. He initially refused. His patron, Prince Lichnowsky (formerly Mozart’s patron), eventually persuaded him to cut the opera from three acts to two. Beethoven spent so much time perfecting it that the orchestra had only enough time to rehearse it once before its second production in March 1806. After a subpar performance on opening night, Beethoven condemned the players.

Portrait of Beethoven, 1820, by Joseph Karl Stieler. Oil on canvas; 28 1/3 inches by 23 inches. Beethoven House, Vienna. (Public Domain)

“Fidelio” was better attended the second time around, and the first five performances seemed to promise a long run. Then Beethoven abruptly withdrew the opera. He mistrusted the director Braun and felt that theater members were conspiring against him to rob him of royalties.

Revival and Deafness

The opera was revived in 1814, this time to great success. Beethoven wrote the overture for this occasion, and it remains the most recognized part of the opera.

In 1822, it was revived again. Beethoven’s friend and biographer Anton Schindler left an account of the composer’s personal struggles at the time of this second revival. In “Beethoven As I Knew Him,” Schindler recounted how the irascible composer insisted on conducting the performances himself, although he was completely deaf: “We all advised against it, in fact we pleaded with him to resist his own desires.”

Beethoven was unmoved and decided to conduct. During rehearsal, he was unable to coordinate the orchestra with the singers onstage. “Everything fell apart,” Schindler says. The performers stopped and restarted several times. Clearly, they couldn’t continue under their present direction.

“But who was to tell him, and how?” Schindler asked. Even the theater manager was afraid to say something, fearful of Beethoven’s fiery temper. Finally, Schindler in a notebook a message for his friend: “Please don’t go on. I’ll explain at home.” Beethoven jumped down, hastened to his apartment, and threw himself on the sofa, “covered his face with his hands,” and remained there until evening. Reflecting on Beethoven’s depression, Schindler said that “in the long years of my association with the mighty composer, there was never any experience to equal that day in November.”

For the rest of his life, Beethoven sought anxiously to write another opera but never found a libretto that satisfied him. Many popular and prolific composers who specialized in this genre have fallen into oblivion, while he has not. It’s a testament to Beethoven’s genius that “Fidelio” remains in the standard repertoire. His life may have had tragic elements, but his art remains.

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