Beethoven. "Fidelio" Automatic translate

November 22, Sunday, 19:00

In the year of celebrating the 250th anniversary of the birth of Beethoven, the St. Petersburg Concert and the St. Petersburg Symphony Orchestra conducted by Sergei Stadler will present a new production. On November 22, the Hermitage Theater will host the premiere of the composer’s only opera, Fidelio.

Fidelio is a great opera: Beethoven created a work that is relevant for any time. In whatever historical context its plot is placed, it looks organic, and the classical style of music only emphasizes its versatility.

In the version of director Irina Fokina and artistic director of the production, Sergei Stadler, the action is transferred to Petersburg in 1825. The choice of the era is not accidental, because the events of the December uprising are unusually consonant with the ideas of the composer and the Great French Revolution. Like the Decembrists, Beethoven’s Florestan is a man equal in status to his opponents. No matter how noble the motives of his struggle are, he fights primarily for power. But there is another feat - the feat of women, the feat of Leonora, who fights for the life of a specific person, for a small (on the scale of revolutions) personal happiness.

The creators of the play pose philosophical questions for the audience and find relevant solutions for their implementation in the theater space. Gorgeous historical costumes are organically combined with video projections, chronicles shows, and references to the language of modern culture.

Beethoven’s opera is written in an oratorio-symphonic style, which, on the one hand, makes it very difficult for stage implementation, and on the other hand, makes huge demands on the singers and the orchestra. The history of Russian productions of Fidelio is rather modest. Probably, during the Tsarist and Soviet times, the events described caused too many associations. In the 21st century, there have been several concert performances and a number of individual performances within the framework of festivals. The appearance of Beethoven’s only opera in the form of a full-fledged performance will become one of the main events in the cultural life of the country.

The premiere of the performance is timed to celebrate the 90th anniversary of the Petersburg-Concert.

Director - Irina Fokina
Set Designer - Alexey Levdansky