Start of rehearsals for "Fidelio"
Interview |
A prisoner who fought for truth and whose life is now under threat. His heroic wife, disguised as a man to save him. And a cruel ruler who does not shy away from murder. Finally: Liberation, jubilation, happiness.
These are the key points of Ludwig van Beethoven's only opera Fidelio, considered by many to be the quintessential freedom opera: the final chorus jubilantly sings of the ideals of freedom and brotherhood. What's more, the plot tells the story of how faith, love and hope can have an effect from the small to the large and even overthrow authoritarian systems.
At second glance, one discovers numerous additional nuances. For example, there is a follower who seeks economic security. A young woman who falls in love with the disguised protagonist. And what about the general final jubilation? Does the central couple feel understood?
These are all aspects that director Nikolaus Habjan, who is making his house debut at the Vienna State Opera with this production, is particularly keen to explore. Together with Franz Welser-Möst, the musical director of the production, he is bringing out a new staging of the opera.
Musically, Fidelio offers uniquely familiar moments: Florestan's dungeon aria, for example, which tips over into feverish, visionary, Leonore's haunting invocation of hope, Pizarro's cruelly triumphant "Ha, what a moment!", the multi-layered, precious, floating quartet "Mir ist so wunderbar" and finally the aforementioned, frenetically erupting jubilant chorus at the end.
The work itself has played and continues to play a major role in the history of Viennese opera: The world premiere (of all three versions) took place in Vienna, the rebuilt Vienna State Opera opened with Fidelio in 1955, and with almost 1,000 performances, the work is one of the cornerstones of its repertoire. And the fact that this Fidelio is the first new staged production of the final version since 1970 only emphasizes the importance of the upcoming premiere.
What is Beethoven's Fidelio for you? An opera of freedom? Or a work that shows just how exposed such terms are to abuse? After all, opera was not only instrumentalized in all kinds of ways during the Nazi regime.
For me,Fidelio is an opera of freedom that is based on great ideals. But as is unfortunately the case with ideals and concepts, they can be stolen and misused very quickly. As you say, this also happened to Fidelio during the Nazi regime. But that's not the opera's fault! I firmly believe that this opera must be seen in terms of great ideas - and not as a dystopian work in any way.
A particularly important character for you in the opera is the jailer Rocco - a classic henchman who initially sides with the despot Pizarro. What arouses your interest in him?
He is the only character who undergoes real development from his first to his last appearance. And that's what I find so exciting about him. He begins as a small, opportunistic worm - there's no other way to put it - as someone who is deeply bland and under the influence of the governor Don Pizarro. In the course of the plot, however, he turns more and more to Leonore's influence and changes sides. He becomes more and more independent and suddenly begins to question things. He wants to know why the prisoners are locked away for no reason, why he should not give the imprisoned Florestan anything to drink, why he should allow himself to be used for anything - even murder.
And at the end of the opera, he does something that the Rocco of the first act would never have done: he runs over the highest politician, Don Fernando, sent by the king, with the words "So help! Help the poor!" over his mouth. A wonderful moment!
Incidentally, I think that's the message of Fidelio: you don't have to be a hero. We are all - and none of us should be exempt - followers in one way or another. But we can decide which influence we turn to. And that's exactly what Rocco does. He turns to the good.
The final, euphoric cheer - can it be trusted? Or is something being decreed from above?
I believe that the times are over when such a finale should be read negatively, i.e. prescribed from above. If you look at the history of theater, you realize one thing: when times are good, people like to make dystopian theater. But if the times themselves are becoming more and more dystopian - and unfortunately this cannot be denied today - then you have to create art that helps us to be courageous.
The great theater maker Michael Vogel once said a beautiful and incredibly important sentence: "My wish is that people leave the theater after a performance a little bit braver than when they came." I think that's exactly what Fidelio means. And that's why the courageous act of rescue that Leonore committed must be acknowledged in an appropriate - i.e. euphoric - way.
The fact that this happens so emphatically in the opera is also due to Beethoven's character.
In which time will your production be set - past, present, future? Or in an undefined timelessness?
I no longer want to see a Fidelio set on the German-German border, for example - in other words, a production that tells the story of a very specific political or social situation. In my opinion, Fidelio only works if it is kept general. You have to understand it as a fairy tale, as a fable.
If you locate the work too specifically in terms of time and geography, it loses its meaning. Apart from that, you also run the risk of the production becoming aesthetically outdated after a few years.
If Fidelio is a fable - do you deliberately want to keep the work in sharply defined black and white tones? So - apart from Rocco - categorize it a little: These are the bad guys, these are the good guys?
Of course, they are all archetypes - including Rocco. They are in the libretto, and as such they are also clearly defined in the music: You can hear what makes Rocco tick, what makes Marzelline tick, what makes Florestan and Leonore tick. Ultimately, we encounter stereotypical characters and not - as in Mozart, for example - highly psychologized, very complex figures.
No, everything here is very clear, almost woodcut-like. But that is also what makes the work so appealing!