opera – Popular Beethoven

Beethoven’s only opera: Leonore or Fidelio?

poster for the premier of Fidelio at Vienna's Kärtnertortheater

Beethoven’s only opera is called Leonore. Or Fidelio. Now, which one? Beethoven started working on a French libretto in 1803 that was around in Europe since the 1790s. This opera had been set by three different composers before Beethoven. The libretto was Leonore, ou l’amour conjugal (Leonore, or marital love), written by J.-N. Bouilly. The German version was adopted by …

In this article we take a short journey in the history of opera discovering the roots and the development of this art form. Opera in Italy The word opera comes from the Italian phrase opera in musica – work in music. The name represents all the efforts that build up an opera. The text (libretto, booklet), the music itself, …