Fidelio

Bernard Haitink, Conductor

Elisabeth Söderström, Elizabeth Gale, Anton De Ridder, Curt Appelgren, Robert Allman, Ian Caley
Composer: Ludwig von Beethoven
Librettist: Josef Sonnleither & Georg Friedrich Treitschke

WHY IS THIS OUT OF PRINT?!!!?!!!

Ahem. Excuse me.

This is a magnificent video which really brings the beauty of Fidelio to life. The cast is wonderful, without exception, and the conductor has a good handle on the emotional feel of the work.

Elisabeth Söderström is a really fantastic Leonore, the only one I've heard that I can really compare to Christa Ludwig. Ludwig's singing is a hair better but Söderström just owns the stage in this production. The emotion she shows, particularly when she finally recognizes Florestan, is incredibly moving. She even manages look believably boyish! (Admittedly a very feminine boy.) The duet "O Nammenlose Freude" in Act II is possibly the most achingly beautiful moment I've ever watched on film, because it is sung beautifully, staged extremely well, and the chemistry between the two leads is perfect.

Anton De Ridder's Florestan is very human and realistic. He sings well, and his obvious devotion to Leonore is touching. He found a great balance between being haggard and worn by his long imprisonment, but hardened rather than broken by his suffering. Kudos to whoever did his makeup - he's a little too healthy-looking to have been starving for two years but they did a great job hiding this. (As I reread this it sounds like I'm trying to use "healthy" as a euphemism for "fat" here. I'd just like to point out that I'm not; I'm talking about his body type rather than his weight.)

Curt Appelgren's Rocco is true to the character. He gives a solid performance - both his acting and singing were excellent, and he rises to the standard of this top-notch cast although nothing about his performance strikes me as truly remarkable.

Pizzaro is a difficult role to sing well - it's very easy for the singer to slip into a bellowing, stereotypical-villain style. I'm glad to say that it doesn't happen here. Robert Allman's Pizarro manages to be a believably evil human being rather than a two-dimensional monster. His voice is excellent as well.

Elizabeth Gale's really sympathetic take on the role of Marzelline gave me a new perspective on a character I had never really paid much attention to. The moment in the final scene where she and Leonore hug is priceless, and it helps to tie off a loose end that Beethoven left ambiguous.

Ian Caley presents a somewhat petulant Jacquino, but the interpretation works well in this production - particularly with Gale's reserved Marzelline.

One of the most wonderful things about this video is the staging. It's so well done that paired with such effective acting you hardly need the subtitles to figure out what's going on. The set transports you right into the world of the prison and is never distracting, with the possible exception of the real horse Pizarro shows up on. I love the way Don Fernando (a role performed excellently by Michael Langdon) is presented as a campaigning politician, complete with handshakes and a speech platform.

Somebody start a petition - this needs to be released on DVD, because I suspect I'm going to wear out my VHS copy. Plus, this performance is a lot better than the Fidelio that is available on DVD.

Originally Reviewed:

13-Apr-03