A timely blow for freedom in Lyric Opera’s visually striking “Fidelio”
“This opera will earn me a martyr’s crown,” said Beethoven of Fidelio, his sole work in the genre, which opened at Lyric Opera of Chicago Thursday night.
No composition caused Beethoven as much heartache nor as many false starts and revisions—four different overtures, ten versions of Florestan’s big aria and 18 attempts at Leonore’s “Komm, Hoffnung,”
The theatrical demands of operatic form were foreign to Beethoven who tended to think of music drama instrumentally, rather than vocally. The 1805 premiere of Fidelio was the greatest flop of Beethoven’s career, closing after three performances. Napoleon’s occupation of Vienna didn’t help, nor did the fact that two other operas set to the same story had recently enjoyed local success. (In a bit of admirable cross-programming, Chicago Opera Theater will present one of these, Ferdinando Paër’s Leonora next week.)
After the premiere, Beethoven cut Fidelio from three acts to two, and this version met with somewhat greater success the following year. It was only in 1814 with a third and final revision that Fidelio received the acclaim and audience popularity it has enjoyed to this day. Even so, Beethoven would never write another opera.
The scenario of Fidelio reflects the era’s mania for “rescue” operas as well as Beethoven’s passionate belief in individual liberty. The freedom fighter Florestan is being held captive by his political enemy Pizarro, the corrupt governor of the prison, who plans on assassinating him. Florestan’s wife, Leonore disguises herself as “Fidelio,” an apprentice male jailer to the warden Rocco, in order to gain access to her captive husband. Meanwhile Rocco’s daughter Marzelline has fallen for Fidelio, Leonore’s cross-dressing alter ego, much to the discomfiture of Marzelline’s admirer, Jaquino. Eventually, the courageous Leonore succeeds in rescuing her husband from Pizarro’s clutches, all political prisoners are released and justice and freedom prevail.
Even in its final form, Fidelio remains something of an operatic shaggy beast. The libretto is rickety and the situations contrived and implausible (not least Leonore and Florestan not recognizing each other for an extended period). Yet even with its problems, Beethoven’s stirring music elevates the opera to a much higher level with showpiece arias for the two leads, quartets, trios and rousing choruses.
For its first Fidelio in two decades, Lyric Opera is presenting Beethoven’s opera in a contemporary setting. Unusually for this company, it is the updated, visually striking production that proved one of the most successful elements.
Leonore and Florestan are among the most challenging roles in the repertoire, calling for big heroic voices, with enough power and agility to leap across registers and soar over Beethoven’s often rambunctious orchestra.
As Leonore, Elza van den Heever proved more consistent dramatically than vocally opening night. One would think the low-lying role would suit her, having started her career as a mezzo. Yet while she has the heft for the role, the singer sometimes seemed lacking in the requisite flexibility. “Komm, Hoffnung,” Leonora’s big Act I aria, was taken at a draggy tempo with the long lines cautiously negotiated and the faster concluding section lacking fire and excitement.
Van den Heever made more of her opportunities in Act II with a deeply felt prayer of Thanksgiving and partnering well with Russell Thomas’s Florestan in a soaring account of their ecstatic duet (“O namenlose Freude”).
Dramatically, the South African soprano delivered a strong characterization, clearly conveying Leonore’s wide range of emotions (not easy under a security guard’s cap). From her discomfiture at Marzelline’s attentions, to her foreboding in the underground cell, and unrestrained joy at Florestan’s release, the soprano—last seen at Lyric in 2019 as Chrysothemis in Elektra—made all of Leonora’s responses register.
Russell Thomas’s Florestan was a welcome improvement over his most recent Lyric outing as Radames in last spring’s Aida. He brought apt stentorian gruffness to Florestan’s belated appearance at the top of Act II and an affecting desperation to his aria lamenting his plight. Thomas labored manfully through the treacherous role’s demands—impressively so in the final scene—yet the strain was often apparent and the tenor’s high notes were, once again, precarious and underpowered.
The staging is by director Matthew Ozawa, who was hired as Lyric Opera’s chief artistic administrative officer (a newly created position) in 2022.
Updating the action from 18th century Spain to a contemporary detention facility worked surprisingly well—largely because Ozawa plays the opera straight with minimal alterations to the libretto and action (unlike many a modern-dress production). Moreover, Beethoven’s themes of liberty and seeking freedom from an authoritarian regime that imprisons its political opponents seems even more resonant today than when this production debuted in San Francisco three years ago, though likely not in the way its creators intended.
Alexander V. Nichols’ rotating set with its fluorescent lighting and metallic barred cells effectively incorporates a soulless prison milieu (with women as well as men detainees), as well as a busy outer jail office and Florestan’s subterranean cell. Jessica Jahn’s modern outfits were dead on, from Leonore’s security guard uniform, to Marzelline’s fetching blue dress and Pizarro’s bureaucratic-drone suit. Yuki Nakase Link’s lighting effectively highlighted the scenic design and action.
Ozawa’s production was more successful in concept than practical stage direction. Often there was too much distracting busyness with the singers going up and down the stairs repeatedly on the bilevel set. At times the principals seemed lost on the congested stage amid the large chorus of prisoners and supernumeraries. The opera’s climactic moment where Leonore brandishes her gun at Pizarro to save Florestan was more confusing than exciting, awkwardly staged and looking underrehearsed.
Dimitry Ivashchenko proved a worthy Rocco, bringing an imposing bass and everyman quality to the humane if not-too-bright jailer who is willing to go along with Pizarro’s evil machinations to keep his job but only up to a point.
Brian Mulligan made an aptly odious Pizarro, although the baritone proved vocally light in the loafers for a villainous role that requires more menacing sonorous impact.
In her Lyric Opera debut as Marzelline—here an office worker in her father’s jail—Sydney Mancasola was a youthful and charming ingenue. The soprano started out a bit fluttery in the opening scene yet her singing soon improved and was better projected, her pure high voice soaring in the ensembles.
Also making a company bow was Daniel Espinal as Jaquino. The first-year Ryan Opera Center member displayed a pleasing lyric tenor, though the staging did him no favors, treating Marzelline’s suitor as a comic buffoon. Alfred Walker was a reassuring presence as the beneficent minister, Don Fernando. Ryan Center members Travon D. Walker and Christopher Humbert Jr. sang effectively as the 1st and 2nd Prisoners, respectively.
Conducting his first Fidelio anywhere, Enrique Mazzola brought intermittent fire to the proceedings yet his inexperience showed in uneven pacing and fussy, hectoring tempos that tended toward extremes. The arias for Leonora and Florestan felt distended and dragged rather than flowing naturally, and the concluding ensemble nearly went off the rails at a breathless tempo. Still, the Lyric Opera Orchestra played with polish and commitment, particularly the horns and brass.
Under Michael Black, the men and women of the Lyric Opera Chorus sang with resounding power, clarity and dramatic impact.
Beethoven’s Fidelio runs through October 10. lyricopera.org
Chicago Opera Theater presents Ferdinando Paër’s Leonora October 1, 4 & 6. cot.org
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