Ludwig van Beethoven is remembered with a stage concert of the opera Fidelio at the Palace of Fine Arts

Until December 9 are the presentations, within the framework of the 250 years of the birth of the German composer and the 75th anniversary of INBAL.

 

The only opera by Ludwig van Beethoven, Fidelio, will be presented in a stage concert version by the National Opera Company (CNO) of the National Institute of Fine Arts and Literature (INBAL) until December 9 at 8:00 p.m. (Tuesday 7 at 20:00) in the Main Hall of the Palacio de Bellas Artes, as part of #VolverAVerte of the Secretary of Culture of the Government of Mexico.

 

Originally scheduled to close the 2020 CNO season, this title was postponed due to the health contingency from COVID-19. A year later, he takes it up again on the eve of the completion of the commemorations for the 250th anniversary of the birth of the Genius of Bonn.

 

Within the framework of the 75th anniversary of the creation of INBAL, the work has a cast led by the soprano María Katzarava in the leading role, the tenor Héctor Sandoval as Florestán and the baritone Enrique Ángeles in the role of Don Pizarro. The cast is completed by the bass Carsten Wittmoser, the soprano Liliana Aguilasocho, the tenor Andrés Carrillo and the bass Antonio Azpiri. The Orchestra and Choir of the Theater of Fine Arts participate. Rodrigo Elorduy is the master coach of the Choir. The coordinating address is Iván López Reynoso.

 

 

On the other hand, the creative team of this unique scenic conception, which highlights the confinement and liberation, is made up of Mauricio García Lozano in stage direction, Jorge Ballina in set design, Jesús Hernández in lighting, Jerildy Bosch in the dressing room and Cinthia Muñoz in the makeup.

 

Beethoven is one of the most performed concert music composers in the world and considered by specialists as one of the great geniuses of all time. He has an abundance of works: concertos, symphonies, piano sonatas, chamber music and a vast etcetera. Of all of them, only one corresponds to the operatic genre: Fidelio, with a German libretto by Joseph F. Sonneleither, based on the original French text by Jean-Nicolas Bouilly.

 

Fidelio tells the story of Leonora, Florestan’s wife, imprisoned for political reasons in the custody of the sinister Pizarro. Leonora, transvestite into a man under the name of Fidelio, manages to work in the prison and, sheltered under her identity as a prison employee, free her husband, sentenced to death by her enemy. Leonora achieves her goal after overcoming numerous obstacles and facing, at the cost of her own life, the fearsome governor of the prison.

 

 

This opera that summarizes many of the ideals that Beethoven professed and made patent in his life, such as justice, platonic love, loyalty and freedom, was premiered in its final version on May 23, 1814 at the Theater am Kärntnertor in Vienna.

 

There will be a strict adherence to the protection measures for artists, workers and assistants, which consist of a filter with a disinfectant mat, application of antibacterial gel, revision of the temperature that does not exceed 37.5ºC, mandatory use of a mask at the time of access and during the functions, and respect for the healthy distance, as well as capacity limited to 65 percent of the capacity of the venue. The hand program will be available through a QR code at the entrance of the room. The change of programming is subject to the sanitary conditions established by the authorities of the Secretariats of Health and Culture of the Government of Mexico.