
PROGRAMME
Fidelio’s libretto, based on a comic opera by Bouilly and Gaveaux, met resounding success in Paris in 1798. Drawing inspiration from the Reign of Terror, a period of the French Revolution, this artwork inspired many composers. Beethoven turned it into an ode to justice and made it his philosophical legacy. At the end of a galant century and in the early days of a society founded on mariage, the marital love that was denied to Beethoven is a the heart of this drama.
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The composer worked on this opera for ten years, until it triumphed in 1814. Like Mozart, Beethoven had transcended singspiel’s form and language. More importantly, he had entrusted lyrical art with its true mission: the public.
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Rarely played in Paris, Fidelio finds an opera auditorium at the Opéra Comique that is very similar to the ones Beethoven knew back in the 1810’s.Together with Siobhan Stagg and Michael Spyres, Raphaël Pichon and Cyril Teste have created a performance induced with fiery musical intensity and politics.
CAST
Leonore - Siobhan Stagg (from the orchestra pit on September 25th, Katherine Broderick ; from the orchestra pit on September 27th, Jacquelyn Wagner)
Florestan - Michael Spyres
Marzelline - Mari Eriksmoen
Rocco - Albert Dohmen
Don Pizarro - Gabor Bretz
Don Fernando - Christian Immler
Jaquino - Linard Vrielink
First prisoner - Constantin Goubet
Second prisoner - René Ramos Premier
Choir and orchestra - Pygmalion
Musical direction - Raphaël Pichon
Stage direction - Cyril Teste
Decors - Valérie Grall
Costumes - Marie La Rocca
Dramaturgy - Leila Adham
Lights - Julian Boizard
Video conception - Mehdi Toutain-Lopez
Camera operator - Nicolas Doremus
Sound conception - Thibault Lamy
DATES
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2021 September 25th, 27th and 29th, October 1st and 3rd
Opéra Comique, Paris