Ludwig van Beethoven: Fidelio

by Paul Robinson

Overview

Fidelio is Beethoven's only complete opera and one of the most admired, and problematic, in the repertoire. This Opera Handbook explores the fascinating musical and dramatic elements within the work as well as the debt to the traditions of French opera in the late eighteenth century and the French Revolution. Winton Dean offers a comparison of the opera's first (1805) and final (1814) versions. Essays by Michael Tusa and Joseph Kerman consider its musical idiom and the challenges Beethoven faced as an instrumental composer trying his hand at opera. A final chapter examines the opera's performance history, and the volume also includes a synopsis, bibliography, and informative illustrations.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521458528
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	09/26/1996
Series:	Cambridge Opera Handbooks
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	204
Product dimensions:	5.43(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.47(d)

Table of Contents

List of illustrations; General preface; 1. Introduction; 2. Synopsis; 3. Beethoven and opera Winton Dean; 4. The French theatrical origins of Fidelio David Charlton; 5. Fidelio and the French Revolution; 6. Music as drama: structure, style and process in Fidelio Michael C. Tusa; 7. Augenblicke in Fidelio Joseph Kerman; 8. An interpretive history; Notes; Select bibliography; Index.

Editorial Reviews

"This is a well-rounded and provocative collection of essays." Choice

From the Publisher