Opera Review - Fidelio

It took Beethoven ten years to write his one and only opera and it has been 20 years since it was last performed in Leeds. As a lover of Beethoven’s music, the opportunity to see it performed by the brilliant Opera North in Leeds, was a chance not to be passed up.

The opera tells the story of Leonore, the wife of Florestan who has disguised herself as a prison guard named Fidelio in order to find out and free her husband from jail. The themes central to the plot are that of love, liberty and justice and also a firm belief that the human spirit can triumph over adversity.

I had wondered if the opera would meet up to my expectations and just before the lights dimmed, I felt a sense of anxiety that my anticipation of seeing this particular opera had built up my expectations too much. I shouldn’t have worried, for the moment the lights went out and the overture started I was entranced by the music. The entire overture was played to a dark auditorium and with nothing to focus our sights on, the other senses took over and you got to appreciate the true and pure beauty of the music. I don’t mind admitting that parts of the overture moved me to tears, it was so beautiful.

The staging was very well planned and focussed, with only small sections of the stage being used until the chorus numbers in the second half. The framing of each scene with the black borders of the curtain highlighted the performers and the scene setting with great effect.

I had read the synopsis of the opera beforehand and as it was sung in German there were the English subtitles on hand to explain what was being sung. However, I found that most of the time I didn’t need them as the opera was very easy to follow and was performed so well by the cast and chorus that the emotions came through the music.

There were some outstanding performances from Emma Bell as Leonore and Stephen Harrison as Florestan and I particularly enjoyed the quartet in Act One of Leonore, Rocco, Marzelline and Jaquino as they sung “ Mir ist so wunderbar”,( How wondrous the emotion). The blend of voices together with the orchestra created an incredible sound as each voice joined in with their respective parts.

Another part I found equally enthralling was the Chorus of the Prisoners. I watched totally engrossed as the chorus seemed to crawl out from underneath parts of the stage to stand in the open air.This had such an ethereal quality to it and the male voices combined with the orchestra produced a sound both compelling and highly emotive, it was truly incredible.

The ending was also a triumph as Leonore releases the chains on her husband and the chorus sing "Wer ein solches Weib errungen" (He, whom such a wife has cherished).Through this piece you can sense the feeling of victory over adversity and the hope that this brings to others. Earlier in Act Two Leonore had sung how “You may test us, but do not forsake us” and in this finale you experienced the joy of overcoming such a trial – something I think many of us can relate to in our own lives at times.

The whole opera was enthralling from start to finish and held my attention so closely that the time seemed to pass by too quickly and I was genuinely disappointed when it had ended. I have seen quite a few operas now -many of which have been performed by Opera North but I think this is one of the most engrossing and enchanting productions I have seen. You share the emotions of the main characters and can therefore enjoy their triumph over adversity at the end – true love conquers all!


For details of tour dates and ticket prices see http://www.operanorth.co.uk/events/fidelio/