History Theatre / Fidelio

%%* SweetOnPollyOliver: Marzelline on Fidelio.

* CharacterFilibuster -- Don Fernando: ''I detest grim tyranny. I see every man as my brother''. He does not have much stage time, to be sure, but is distracting in his blatantness.
%%* CounterpointDuet: the "Canonic" quartet.
* DisneyFication: Done by Beethoven to his own opera. The music in ''Leonore'' is more complex and the intervals between the musical numbers are full of lengthy dialogues between the characters. However, it lacks the mass dramatic appeal compared to ''Fidelio''. Prince Lichnowsky, one of Beethoven's patrons, convinced the composer to make many revisions to be more financially successful.
* %%DistressedDude Florestan.
* EvilGloating -- Pizarro lives for this. The [[PrepareToDie "Prepare to Die!"]] speech sounds marginally better in German delivered by a baritone.

* JustInTime -- Don Fernando's last-minute jail bust.
%%* LoveTriangle -- Jaquino-Marzelline-Fidelio. It goes nowhere.
%%* MeaningfulName -- Fidelio, fidelity. No subtlety here.
* MoneySong -- Rocco's "Hat man nicht auch Gold beineben" ("If you don't have money on the side")
* RoundedCharacter: Any half-decent Rocco should be able to steal the show: after all, Rocco is the only character in the cast that is not a [[FlatCharacter cardboard cutout]]
** Arguably because he's the nearest there is to an [[AudienceSurrogate Audience Surrogate]]. He has a conscience, he doesn't like the way Pizarro treats his prisoners and certainly doesn't like the idea of killing anyone, but he's got a job to do and he wants to make sure his daughter is cared for. A good Rocco ought to make the audience feel a little uncomfortable about what ''they'' would do if they lived under a tyrant like Pizarro.
%%* SweetOnPollyOliver -- Marzelline on Fidelio.
* VillainSong -- Pizarro's "Ha! Welch' ein Augenblick!" ("Ha! What a moment!") is a [[SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic truly magnificent]] example. He even begins with he words Ha! Ha! Ha! ...as if there were any doubt as to how villainous he is...
* ViolentlyProtectiveGirlfriend: PluckyGirl Leonore [[SweetPollyOliver disguises herself as a boy named Fidelio]] to release her unjustly jailed husband Florestan from prison. At some point, she threatens BigBad Pizarro to protect him.

* [[CounterpointDuet Counterpoint Song]] -- the "Canonic" quartet.
* [[DisneyFication DisneyFication]] -- Done by Beethoven to his own opera. The music in ''Leonore'' is more complex and the intervals between the musical numbers are full of lengthy dialogues between the characters. However, it lacks the mass dramatic appeal compared to ''Fidelio''. Prince Lichnowsky, one of Beethoven's patrons, convinced the composer to make many revisions to be more financially successful.
* [[DistressedDude Dude in Distress]] — Florestan.

* HellholePrison

* LoveTriangle -- Jaquino-Marzelline-Fidelio. It goes nowhere.
* MeaningfulName -- Fidelio, fidelity. No subtlety here.

* RoundedCharacter -- any half-decent Rocco should be able to steal the show: after all, Rocco is the only character in the cast that is not a [[FlatCharacter cardboard cutout]]

** Arguably also because this is an opera and Rocco doesn't get the best opportunities to shine from a musical point of view.
* SweetOnPollyOliver -- Marzelline on Fidelio.

* ViolentlyProtectiveGirlfriend -- PluckyGirl Leonore [[SweetPollyOliver disguises herself as a boy named Fidelio]] to release her unjustly jailed husband Florestan from prison. At some point, she threatens BigBad Pizarro to protect him.

* ViolentlyProtectiveGirlfriend -- PluckyGirl Leonore [[SweetPollyOliver disguises herself as a boy named Fidelio]] to release her unjustly jailed husband Florestan from prison. At some point, she threatens BigBad Pizarro to protect him.
* VoiceTypes:
** Sopranos -- Fidelio and Marzelline
** Tenors -- Jaquino and Florestan, one a [[TenorBoy genuine ingenue]], the other a goody-two-shoes.
** Bass Baritones/Basses -- Pizarro, because EvilSoundsDeep; Rocco, the closest to a ''buffo'' role in this opera; and Fernando.

* [[DisneyFication DisneyFication]] -- Done by Beethoven to his own opera. The music in ''Leonore'' is more complex and the intervals between the musical numbers are full of lengthy dialogues between the characters. However, it is boring and lacking in mass dramatic appeal compared to ''Fidelio''. Prince Lichnowsky, one of Beethoven's patrons, convinced the composer to make many revisions to be more financially successful.

** Bass Baritones/Basses -- Pizarro, because EvilSoundsDeep; Rocco, the closest to a ''buffo'' role in this opera; and Fernando.
----

Act II can be readily summarized: Florestan, in his dirty dank dungeon, laments how his righteousness and honesty has been thus rewarded. Rocco and Fidelio finds him more dead than alive. Fidelio recognises him, and offers him as much comfort as she can without blowing her cover. When the grave is ready, Rocco signals Pizarro. Pizarro [[EvilGloating gloats]] over Florestan. Fidelio reveals her true identity — "Kill me first; I am his wife." — and points a pistol at Pizarro. At that moment, a trumpet announces the arrival of Don Fernando, the righteous minister of the King. Pizarro is arrested, and all his prisoners are set free. Cue [[CrowningMusicOfAwesome Choral Music of Awesome]] as the crowd cheers for the brave, faithful woman who saves her husband.

* VillainSong -- Pizarro's "Ha! Welch' ein Augenblick!" ("Ha! What a moment!") is a [[CrowningMusicOfAwesome truly magnificent]] example. He even begins with he words Ha! Ha! Ha! ...as if there were any doubt as to how villainous he is...

Act II can be readily summarized: Florestan, in his dirty dank dungeon, laments how his righteousness and honesty has been thus rewarded. Rocco and Fidelio finds him more dead than alive. Fidelio recognises him, and offers him as much comfort as she can without blowing her cover. When the grave is ready, Rocco signals Pizarro. Pizarro, not being GenreSavvy, [[EvilGloating gloats]] over Florestan. Fidelio reveals her true identity — "Kill me first; I am his wife." — and points a pistol at Pizarro. At that moment, a trumpet announces the arrival of Don Fernando, the righteous minister of the King. Pizarro is arrested, and all his prisoners are set free. Cue [[CrowningMusicOfAwesome Choral Music of Awesome]] as the crowd cheers for the brave, faithful woman who saves her husband.

In his only opera, ''Fidelio'', [[LudwigVanBeethoven Beethoven]] made use of two themes dear to him: freedom, and the concept of the spiritually ideal woman.