Fidelio

Learn about the history and development of Beethoven's Fidelio

Beethoven's only opera is set in a country ravaged by war. Leonore risks everything to rescue her husband, Florestan, a prisoner of war under a totalitarian regime. This timeless 1805 ode to peace, joy and triumph in the face of brutal adversity, receives its very first Alberta production.

Director's Message

The brutality of war, its victims, its heroes and its aftermath, is one of the tragic inevitabilities of the human condition: where there is man, there will always be, sadly, conflict and war. Whether the 18th century Spanish setting of Beethoven’s magnificent Fidelio, or the revolutions, civil wars and insurrections of the past century, or even the explosions of violence today and in years to come, it seems that we will never know a world completely at peace.

But in times of struggle, during the darkest chapters of our own history, the heroes and heroines of our world emerge: faith, hope and the triumph of the human spirit remind us of the fundamental humanity within us all, and for me, it is this journey from darkness back to the light which excites me the most as the director of the Edmonton Opera Production Fidelio.

The creative team for the show has been carefully assembled, and we are envisioning and developing the production in a whole new way. Extensive discussions have taken place with the creative team and we are challenging ourselves to create a world on Edmonton’s Jubilee stage which evokes a familiar but destroyed environment, a modern world, but one shattered by an unnamed war in an unnamed land, a world where its inhabitants struggle to maintain fragments of the commonplace, while knowing that their lives have been changed forever by war.

And the message of hope, the message we most wish to leave with patrons as they leave the theatre is perfectly embodied by the character of Leonore, as she sings to her imprisoned husband:

“I will loosen your chains whoever you are…

By God I will save you and set you free”

Brian Deedrick, Stage Director of Fidelio

Fidelio Set Model
Designed by Bretta Gerecke

It’s not every day that I get the opportunity to work with amazing artists like Bretta Gerecke and Deanna Finnman on a project that both terrifies and excites me. Fidelio is such an amazing production to create, and to translate it to a medium the size of the Jubilee stage will be both a monumental challenge and an anticipated triumph. The opportunity to build a production from nothing, conceptually speaking, nothing but the leftovers and remains of a society after a devastating war, is going to really push the envelope of our safe environment and our idea and belief of what opera can be.

Clayton Rodney, Technical Director

	Brian Deedrick Director Recent Productions: Boheme (Edmonton Opera), Otello (Edmonton Opera), Pearl Fishers (Edmonton Opera), Flying Dutchman (Edmonton Opera).
	Robert Tweten Conductor Recent Productions: Falstaff (Utah Opera), Verdi’s Macbeth (Lyric Opera of Chicago), Street Scene (Shenandoah University). Upcoming Engagements: Il barbiere di Siviglia (Vancouver Opera), Gianni Schicchi and Pagliacci (Calgary Opera) and Verdi’s Rigoletto (Utah Opera).
	Maida Hundeling Soprano Leonore Edmonton Opera Debut Recent Appearances: Aria auf Naxos (Staatstheater Nurnberg), Tosca (Volksoper Wien), Les Contes D’Hoffmann (Nationaltheater Mannheim). Upcoming Engagements: Turandot (Slovak National Theatre).
	John Mac Master Tenor Florestan Recent Appearances: Verdi’s Requiem (National Arts Centre) in Ottawa with Zukerman, Aegisth in Elektra (Canadian Opera Company). Upcoming Engagements: Janacek’s Glagoliticmass with (William Eddins and the Edmonton Symphony), Pagliacci and Ariadne Auf Naxos both (Vancouver Opera).
	Dean Elzinga Baritone Don Pizarro Recent Appearances: Verdi Requiem (Santa Rosa Symphony, Florida Orchestra), Berlioz Romeo et Juliette (Portland Symphony).
	Nathalie Paulin Soprano Marzelline Edmonton Opera Debut Recent Appearances: Title role in Semele (Chicago Opera Theater) Chicago, Constance in Dialogues Des Carmelites (Calgary Opera) Calgary, Alberta, Zerlina in Don Giovanni (L’Opera de Quebec) Quebec. Upcoming Engagements: Title role in Rodelinda (Houston’s Mercury Baroque) Houston, Texas, and Carmina Burana (Quebec Symphony) Quebec.
	Thomas Goerz Bass Rocco Recent Appearances: Lillian Alling (Vancouver Opera) Vancouver, Don Alfonso cover in Cosi Fan Tutte (Metropolitan Opera), Publio in La Clemenza Di Tito (Vancouver Opera), Vancouver. Upcoming Engagements: Banquo in Macbeth (Pacific Opera Victoria) Victoria, British Columbia.
	Alain Coulombe Bass Don Fernando Recent Appearances: King of Egypt (Canadian Opera Company), Ramfis (Calgary Opera), Sparafucile in Rigoletto (Michigan Opera Theatre). Upcoming Engagements: Lieutenant Gordon Muriel Flowerdew (Pacific Opera Victoria).
	Robert Clark Tenor Jaquino Recent Appearances: Normanno (Calgary Opera) in Lucia di Lammermoor, Beppe (Edmonton Opera) in Cavalleria Rusticana/I Pagliacci. Upcoming Engagements: Charlie in (Pacific Opera Victoria) Mary’s Wedding.

Message from Robert Tweten

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