View source for Fidelio

''[[Fidelio]]'' is the only opera by German composer Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827). The libretto was originally prepared by Joseph Sonnleithner from the French of Jean-Nicolas Bouilly. 

==The original text==

Fidelio is inspired by a true story from the French Revolution. It centres on a woman, Leonore, whose husband Florestan has been secretly imprisoned by his political rival – the villainous Don Pizarro. Originally titled ''Leonore, oder Der Triumph der ehelichen Liebe''. The opera premiered at Vienna's Theater an der Wien on 20 November 1805.

==Translations and adaptations==

== Performance history in South Africa ==

1970: Presented by [[CAPAB Opera]] in collaboration with [[UCT]]; presented by [[NAPAC Opera]].

1978: Presented by [[CAPAB Opera]].

1990: Presented by [[CAPAB Opera]] (31 January – 17 February)

1994: Presented by [[CAPAB Opera]] (14–25 April)

2004: Presented by [[Cape Town Opera]] (27 March) on [[Robben Island]], with [[Elizabeth Connell]] and the [[Cape Philharmonic Orchestra]].

2012: Presented by [[Cape Town Opera]] (7–10 March)  in the [[Castle of Good Hope]].

== Sources ==

'Fidelio in a nutshell'. ''Opera North''. https://www.operanorth.co.uk/news/fidelio-in-a-nutshell/ 

[[Wayne Muller]]. 2018. A reception history of opera in Cape Town: Tracing the development of a distinctly South African operatic aesthetic (1985–2015). Unpublished PhD thesis.

[[Alexandra Xenia Sabina Mossolow]]. 2003. The career of South African soprano Nellie du Toit, born 1929. Unpublished Masters thesis. [[University of Stellenbosch]].

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