Opera Review: ‘Fidelio’

German director Jürgen Flimm’s 2000 production of “Fidelio” is being revived at the Metropolitan Opera, with the action moved to the present day.
Opera Review: ‘Fidelio’
Adrianne Pieczonka as Leonore and Klaus Florian Vogt as Florestan in Beethoven's "Fidelio." Ken Howard/Metropolitan Opera
Barry Bassis
Updated:

NEW YORK—Ludwig von Beethoven’s only opera, “Fidelio,” deals with a man imprisoned for his political beliefs, a situation that is unfortunately as timely as ever. Indeed, German director Jürgen Flimm, whose 2000 production is being revived at the Metropolitan Opera, has moved the action from the 18th century up to the present day. The twist in the plot is that the rescuer is the prisoner’s wife.

The Plot

The title character and central figure in “Fidelio” is Leonore, who is the wife of Florestan and is pretending to be a man named Fidelio.

The action set in Seville, Spain, begins on a light note, with a prison guard trying to romance Marzelline, the daughter of the jailer, Rocco. The young woman rejects her suitor because she has fallen in love with Fidelio, her father’s new assistant.

Hanna-Elizabeth Müller as Marzelline, Falk Struckmann as Rocco, and Adrianne Pieczonka as Leonore in "Fidelio."(Ken Howard/Metropolitan Opera)
Hanna-Elizabeth Müller as Marzelline, Falk Struckmann as Rocco, and Adrianne Pieczonka as Leonore in "Fidelio."Ken Howard/Metropolitan Opera
Barry Bassis
Barry Bassis
Author
Barry has been a music, theater, and travel writer for over a decade for various publications, including Epoch Times. He is a voting member of the Drama Desk and the Outer Critics Circle, two organizations of theater critics that give awards at the end of each season. He has also been a member of NATJA (North American Travel Journalists Association)