Beethoven Reboot? American Prison Choirs Are Taking 'Fidelio' Up A Notch With New Opera Musical

In some translations, Ludwig van Beethoven's only opera "Fidelio" is also called The Triumph of Marital Love.

Originally prepared by Joseph Sonnleithner from the French of Jean-Nicolas Bouilly, Beethoven's german libretto was performed first in Kärntnertortheater on May 23, 1814, in Vienna, Austria.

With the accompaniment of spoken dialogues, Fidelio revolves between Leonore, who disguised herself as a prison guard to free his husband from death in a political prison.

The opera transcends Beethoven's aesthetic and political outlook - heroism, sacrifice, and triumph.

With the overarching concept of the opera in pursuit of liberty and justice, it is undeniably being treated as a sacred piece of art as it can mirror contemporary political movements not just in Europe but also in the United States.

As tragic as it may seem for some, the same political imprisonment is still prevalent with the current political climate in the US.

The revival of Fidelio

Now, the New York City's Heartbeat opera revived Beethoven's "Fidelio" in a more modern take.

Focusing on the Black Lives Matter movement, the main character Stan is thrown into solitary confinement while his wife Leah, mirroring Lenore, attempts to rescue his husband from imminent death.

Although the production is small compared to large opera houses, NPR describes the actual opera musical as "strikingly intimate and imaginative, texturally effective, and slightly claustrophobia-inducing."

Despite the limited number of people involved, Heartbeat Opera Co-Founder and Artistic Director Ethan Heard believes the production is bigger than what it looks like and that the opera needs to have an "American version."

"I revisited the story and was just so struck by the idea of a wrongfully incarcerated man and this amazing woman, his wife, who infiltrates the prison where she believes he's been kept," Heard explained.

First staged in 2018, the Heartbeat Opera attempted to restage it again in 2020, but unfortunately, the pandemic hit - prompting the team to reschedule again.

But, because of the January 6 Capitol insurrection, the team has decided to create a fresher take on the classic Beethoven opera.

Heard and co-musical director Daniel Schlosberg decided to address mass incarceration in America, a concept in which they think would speak largely of the epic material.

Actual prison choir groups will be joining the opera, hailing from Oakdale Community Choir in Iowa; UBUNTU Men's Chorus, KUJI Men's Chorus, and HOPE Thru Harmony Women's Choir in Ohio; East Hill Singers in Kansas, and Voices of Hope from Minnesota.

The production of Fidelio by Heartbeat Opera is now traveling the country, with stops in California and Arizona.