The Met: Live in HD presents ‘Fidelio’

Beethoven’s “Fidelio,” a timeless monument to love, life, and liberty, will be shown March 15 at the O’Shaughnessy Center in Whitefish as part of The Met: Live in HD program. 

Sung in German with subtitles by The Metropolitan Opera, “Fidelio,” the only opera ever completed by Beethoven, is a deftly crafted story of love and adventure.  

In Act I, in a prison, Marzelline, daughter of the jailer, Rocco, rejects the attentions of her father’s assistant, Jacquino. Her heart is set instead on the new errand boy, Fidelio. However, Fidelio is actually Leonore, a noblewoman who has a job in the prison disguised as a man in order to rescue her husband, Florestan, who had been imprisoned by his political rival — the villainous prison governor, Don Pizarro. When Rocco mentions a man lying near death in the vaults below, Leonore begs Rocco to take her on his rounds, suspecting this might be Florestan. In the meantime, Pizarro learns that Don Fernando, minister of state, is on his way to inspect the prison. He realizes that if Fernando discovers that his friend Florestan is alive, all Pizarro’s plans will be lost. He tries to bribe Rocco to murder Florestan, but Rocco refuses. He then decides to kill him himself and orders Rocco to dig the grave. Leonore, overhearing his plan, prays for strength to save her husband. She again begs Rocco to let her accompany him to the condemned man’s cell.