Beethoven: Fidelio (complete opera) [Live]

Jon Villars / Alan Held / Ion Tibrea (Artist), Rainer Trost / Juliane Banse (Artist), Angela Denoke / Laszlo Polgar (Artist), Thomas Ebenstein / Thomas Quasthoff (Artist), Ludwig van Beethoven (Composer), Sir Simon Rattle (Conductor), Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra (Orchestra) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Orchestra: Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra
• Conductor: Sir Simon Rattle
• Composer: Ludwig van Beethoven
• Audio CD (September 2, 2003)
• SPARS Code: DDD
• Number of Discs: 2
• Format: Live
• Label: EMI Classics
• ASIN: B0000AHEAU
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #330,807 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

Disc: 1

1. Fidelio

2. Duett - Jetzt, Schatzchen, Jetzt Sind Wir Allein

3. Rezitativ - Armer Jaquino

4. Arie - O War Ich Schon Mit Dir Vereint

5. Rezitativ - Marzelline, Ist Fidelio Noch Zuruckgekommen

6. Quartett - Mir Ist So Wunderbar

7. Rezitativ - Hore, Fidelio, Ich gebe Dir Meine Tochter Zur Frau

8. Arie - Hat Man Nicht Auch Gold Beineben

9. Rezitativ - Ihr Konnt Das Leicht Sagen, Meister Rocco

10. Terzett - Gut, Sohnchen, Gut, Hab' Immer Mut Nur Auf Der Hut, Dann Geht Es Gut

See all 23 tracks on this disc

Disc: 2

1. Introduktion Und Arie - Gott! Welch' Dunkel Hier

2. In Des Lebens Fruhlingstagen

3. Melodram - Wie Kalt Ist Es Hier

4. Und Duett - Nur hurtig Fort, Nur Frisch Gegraben

5. Rezitativ - Er Erwacht

6. Terzett - Euch Werde Lohn In Besser'n Welten

7. Rezitativ - Alles Ist Bereit

8. Quartett - Er Sterbe/ Rezitativ - Vater Rocco

9. Es Schlagt Der Rache Stunde

10. Duett - O Namenlose Freude

See all 14 tracks on this disc

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Oh! Leonora, tu desta sei..., October 12, 2010

By 

Anna Shlimovich (Boston, MA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Beethoven: Fidelio (complete opera) (Audio CD)

but apparently, not for Sir Simon Rattle, who conceives no l'amorosa fiamma for Leonore Overture - he did not perform it here; it is especially strange, since he is a notorious Mahler conductor, and Gustav Mahler made it a rule to include Leonore Overture III in his interpretation of Fidelio.

The absence of this overture is already a big minus, as it deprives a listener from more musical pleasure.

Otherwise, the recording is good, with excellent voices - Angela Denoke (Leonore) is exceptional, with Thomas Quasthoff is a convincing Don Fernando, and I particularly wanted to hear Alan Held - I saw and heard him once in Der fliegende Holländer as Der Holländer (The Dutchman) in Washington DC; he was PHENOMENAL. And here he was a great Don Pizarro, although sounding lighter than some deeper, more basso voices.

Overall, it is a good, but not a particularly outstanding recording; I'd give it four stars if it had the Leonore Overture, but still it is not as particular as Bernstein's or a timeless classic as Furtwangler's Fidelio.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars If singing comes first this isn't for you, November 23, 2006

By 

Elliot Richman "Muss es sein? Es muss sein!" (New Jersey, US) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Beethoven: Fidelio (complete opera) (Audio CD)

The Rattle Fidelio is outstanding from an overall and an orchestral standpoint. Based on a new Barenreiter performing edition (although I'm not sure I could tell what differences are notational and what are performance-based), Sir Simon presents Beethoven's musical structure in an incredibly moving and dramatic way, and the Berlin Philharmonic shines. I find no fault with Sir Simon here. His grand pauses and tempi are unusual...but who says we have to hear this the same way all the time? The voices of Marzelline, Jaquino, Rocco, Pizarro, and Don Fernando (Quasthoff) are fine to excellent. The vocal leads, however, disappoint. Florestan (Villars) is clean but boring, unidiomatic, non-pathos-laden, and completely inadequate for the essential dramatic requirements of the role (Jon Vickers where are you?). Leonore (Denoke) is also less than optimal, especially in the "Abscheulicher!". With a better Florestan and a better Leonore this would have been a great recording. As it is, it is worth hearing. Whether you want to own it or not depends on how many Fidelios you want on your shelf. It's definitely not the one and only, and no recording of Fidelio that I know of even comes close to being that, but to the extent that singing matters (after all, this is an opera) there are better.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars The emperor's new Fidelio, September 30, 2005

By 

Santa Fe Listener (Santa Fe, NM USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Beethoven: Fidelio (complete opera) (Audio CD)

I admire Simon Rattle and was thrilled when he beat out Barenboim for leadership of the Berlin Phil. But except on rare occasoins, Rattle has never been a strong advocate of Beethoven--he went 20 years of prolific recording activity without making any Beethoven CDs, just as he recorded no Mozart or Brahms symphonies and precious little Haydn. Now he finds himself in the wrong territory fot that kind of holdout. Playing catch-up hasn't been easy.

This live Fidelio is a case in point. It would be automatically disqualified (except to slavishly devoted British critics) by the second-rate singing in every lead role, but especially the light-voiced and totally unidiomatic Leonora and Florestan. But even with better singers, Rattle can't find a style for Beethoven, other than to fuss over the line and push the pace. This great masterpiece demands a lot more--at this point Rattle doesn't have it to give.