Introduktion zum 2. Akt der 1. Fassung des "Fidelio" 1805 WoO 2b

Listening samples

Zwischenaktmusik D-Dur (365 kB)

Composition
1805

Beethoven's opera "Fidelio" was performed for the first time on November 20th, 1805. As it resulted in a failure, the opera was removed from the repertoire and Beethoven edited it two times. The second version was performed on stage in 1806. The third version, which is the one that is usually played these days, had its first performance in 1814.

The first version of the opera featured three acts (the second version only has two). Each act had its own musical introduction: The overture before the first act as a general prelude for the opera, the introduction to the third act is still played today. But how about a prelude for the second act shortly before Pizarro's aria? Otto Jahn, Erich Prieger and Willy Hess, who concentrated on the reconstruction of the first version from 1805, assumed that the march, which was played before the aria in the second and third version, was also part of the first version. This assumption was wrong as sources clearly indicate that the march did not exist in 1805. But what piece then served as introduction to the second act? The national library "Preußischer Kulturbesitz" in Berlin owns a Beethoven autograph titled "Introduzione de[l] IIdo Atto" - introduction to the second act. In their catalogue raisonné from 1956 Kinsky and Halm attributed this introduction under the reference WoO 2b to the tragedy "Tarpeja" by Christoph Kuffner and called it a piece between acts, even though the authors themselves admitted not having any proof for the introduction belonging to "Tarpeja" at all. Such a proof lacked for a good reason: The introduction to the second act was not part of the tragedy for which Beethoven only composed a march, but instead is the long searched introduction to the second act of the first version of "Fidelio" ("Leonore"). (J.R.)

Scores

Literatur

Berlin: Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin Preußischer Kulturbesitz, Musikabteilung mit Mendelssohn-Archiv

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