Nichols, under the purview of Director Matthew Ozawa.Įlza van den Heever as Leonore/Fidelio, Russell Thomas as Florestan. San Francisco Opera’s current production maximizes the values of the piece through excellent casting, fine musical direction by Eun Sun Kim, and the addition of what amounts to another character, the stunning scenic design by Alexander V.

It also acted as a springboard for his most famous and incomparable vocal piece, Beethoven’s Ninth (Choral) Symphony.ĭespite compelling and highly respected music, however, “Fidelio” has generally been consigned in status and popularity to the second twenty of best operas.

It emerged a masterpiece enriched by the composer’s complete musical vocabulary. Near death, he noted of “Fidelio” that “Of all my children, this is the one that cost me the most birth-pangs and the most sorrow….it is the one most dear to me.” After the failures of earlier produced versions, the composer endlessly revised it into its final form over nine years ending in 1814. Ludwig van Beethoven, one of the greatest serious music composers ever, loved opera but created only one. Elza van den Heever as Leonore/Fidelio, Anne-Marie MacIntosh as Marzelline, James Creswell as Rocco, Christopher Oglesby as Jaquino.

Fidelio san francisco opera