Fidelio
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Fidelio, originally titled Leonore, oder Der Triumph der ehelichen Liebe, Op. 72, is the sole opera by German composer Ludwig van Beethoven. The libretto was originally prepared by Joseph Sonnleithner
Fidelio, playbill of the third and finalized premiere at the Kärntnertortheater in Vienna, 23 May 1814
The theatrical mask contemplated by a putto on the Beethoven monument by Kaspar von Zumbusch (Vienna, 1880) commemorates Beethoven's sole opera in the city where it made its debut.
Florestan (Günther Treptow) and Leonore (Karina Kutz); September 1945, Deutsche Oper Berlin
Lotte Lehmann as Leonore
Emanuel Schikaneder
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Emanuel Schikaneder was a German impresario, dramatist, actor, singer, and composer. He wrote the libretto of Mozart's opera Die Zauberflöte and was the builder of the Theater an der Wien. Peter Brans
Fidelio
…Beethoven so much vexation that he vowed never to compose another opera. The distant origin of Fidelio dates from 1803, when the librettist and impresario Emanuel Schikaneder worked out a contract with Beethoven to write an opera. The contract included free lodging for Beethoven in the apartment complex that was part of…
Schikaneder playing the role of Papageno in Mozart's Die Zauberflöte. Engraving by Ignaz Alberti
Auditorium of Regensburg Theatre
Schikaneder circa 1784
Papageno Gate – the former main entrance of the Theater an der Wien (1801). Schikaneder as Papageno with his siblings in Das Labyrinth.