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Angela Denoke, Jon Villars, Alan Held, Laszlo Polgar, Juliane Banse, Rainer Trost & Thomas Quasthoff Arnold Schoenberg Chor & Berliner Philharmoniker, Simon Rattle Ludwig van Beethoven attempted to compose a number of works for the stage but only one opera was completed and that took three versions to reach its definitive form. The first had its premiere in November 1805, was entitled Leonore and was in three acts (with overture Leonore No. 2); the second in March 1806 was still entitled Leonore but now in two acts (with overture Leonore No. 3). The final version did not appear for eight years by which time he had also written another overture – entitled Leonore No. 1. This version had the new and final title and the overture Fidelio. Throughout his life Beethoven had sought to compose music which would praise freedom, valour and the brotherhood of mankind and the story of a wife’s bravery in seeking out her husband in a tyrant’s jail gives full rein to his musical genius. Sir Simon Rattle conducted the new production at Glyndebourne in 2001 and then recorded the work in Berlin with his orchestra and a first rate list of soloists in April 2003. | 
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Christa Ludwig, Gundula Janowitz, Jon Vickers, Walter Berry, Walter Kreppel, Waldemar Kmentt & Eberhard Wächter Wiener Staatsopernchor & Orchester der Wiener Staatsoper, Herbert von Karajan Never before released (we do not acknowledge pirate productions!), recorded at a single evening's performance (25 May 1962), this Fidelio, under the baton of Herbert von Karajan (who was also responsible for the acclaimed stage production), is remarkable for its spontaneity and sense of theatrical presence. “This live recording is fascinating, but falls below Karajan’s famed perfectionism, and both Ludwig and Vickers sound less comfortable than with Klemperer. Gundula Janowitz’s Marzelline is a gem, while Ludwig and Vickers even below par are worth hearing for their dramatic conviction.” Sunday Times, 13th April 2008 *** “An intense, exciting night at the opera, tightly controlled and successfully brought off by Karajan … It’s fascinating to share the experience of such live recordings.” Hermes Opera Lexicon | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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Christine Brewer (Leonore), John Mac Master (Florestan), Daniel Borowski (Don Fernando), Juha Uusitalo (Don Pizarro), Kristinn Sigmundsson (Rocco), Sally Matthews (Marzelline), Andrew Kennedy (Jaquino), Andrew Tortise (1st prisoner) & Darren Jeffrey (2nd prisoner) London Symphony Chorus & London Symphony Orchestra, Sir Colin Davis “Colin Davis may be almost 80 but he's at the height of his powers … the finest performance of Fidelio I have ever heard … … there was no weak link, nor weak moment, in a dazzling evening” ***** The Mail on Sunday (Concert Review) A high density DSD recording, live at the Barbican Centre on 23-25 May 2005
Slimline double case and perfect bound 72-page booklet in slip case with notes in
English, French and German. Libretto in German with English translation. “Colin Davis is an interpreter inspired from start to finish …” Opera | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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Gundula Janowitz, Rene Kollo, Lucia Popp & Hans Sotin Chor und Orchester der Wiener Staatsoper (Vienna State Opera), Leonard Bernstein Live from the Wiener Staatsoper January 1978 “Every phrase, every articulation had its meaning, had a quasi-semantic content, so convincing, so right, that at this moment there was barely a question of any other interpretation” (Opernwelt, Hanover) | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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Placido Domingo & Waltraud Meier Staatskapelle Berlin & Chor der Deutschen Staatsoper Berlin, Daniel Barenboim “[...] quite wonderfully played by the Berlin Staatskapelle, one of the great German orchestras which obviously has this music in its blood.”(Hugh Canning, International Record Review, March 2000) | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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Elisabeth Söderström, Curt Appelgren, Elizabeth Gale, Robert Allman, Anton De Ridder Glyndebourne Chorus, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Bernard Haitink, stage direction by Peter Hall Sir Peter Hall’s outstanding 1979 Glyndebourne Festival Opera production of Fidelio remains remarkably faithful to the way Beethoven intended the opera to be. The stage directions of the original version – completed in 1814 after two revisions – are followed exactly by Sir Peter. | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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Christine Brewer, Richard Margison, Robert Lloyd, Rebecca Evans, Peter Wedd, Pavlo Hunka, Christopher Purves Geoffrey Mitchell Choir, Philharmonia Orchestra, David Parry | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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Karita Mattila, Ben Heppner, René Pape, Falk Struckmann, Robert Lloyd Metropolitan Opera Orchestra & Chorus, James Levine | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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Sena Jurinac, Jon Vickers, Gottlob Frick, Hans Hotter, Elsie Morison, John Dobson, Forbes Robinson, Joseph Ward, Victor Godfrey Covent Garden Opera Orchestra & Chorus, Otto Klemperer Recorded 1961, mono | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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Christa Ludwig, Jon Vickers, Gottlob Frick, Walter Berry, Franz Crass Philharmonia Chorus & Orchestra, Otto Klemperer The sense of struggle and the climb from darkness into light emerge miraculously from every perfectly judged bar - James Jolly, Gramophone 1000th issue | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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Penguin Guide
Gramophone Magazine
Building a Library