Ludwig van Beethoven: Fidelio

This book explores the fascinating musical and dramatic elements within Fidelio, Beethoven's only complete opera.

Paul Robinson (Edited by)

9780521458528, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 26 September 1996

204 pages, 7 b/w illus.
21.6 x 13.8 x 1.2 cm, 0.253 kg

'... essential reading for the opera-goer willing to put in a little effort that certainly repays the reward of an added awareness of all aspects of this great work.' Opera Now

Fidelio is Beethoven's only complete opera and one of the most admired, and problematic, in the repertoire. This book explores the fascinating musical and dramatic elements within the work as well as the debt to the traditions of French opera in the late eighteenth century and its affinities with the French Revolution. Winton Dean offers a comparison of the opera's first (1805) and final (1814) versions. Essays by Michael Tusa and Joseph Kerman consider its musical idiom and the challenges Beethoven faced as an instrumental composer trying his hand at opera. A final chapter examines the opera's performance history, and the volume also includes a synopsis, bibliography, and informative illustrations.

List of illustrations
General preface
1. Introduction
2. Synopsis
3. Beethoven and opera Winton Dean
4. The French theatrical origins of Fidelio David Charlton
5. Fidelio and the French Revolution
6. Music as drama: structure, style and process in Fidelio Michael C. Tusa
7. Augenblicke in Fidelio Joseph Kerman
8. An interpretive history
Notes
Select bibliography
Index.

Subject Areas: Opera [AVGC9]