“Spanish Trace” in the Plot, Libretto, and Stage Performances of Beethoven’s Opera Fidelio

Abstract

The article considers the various connections between Ludwig van Beethoven’s opera Fidelio and specific elements pertaining to Spanish culture. According to the libretto, the events take place in a state prison near Seville. Beethoven’s librettists (Joseph Sonnleithner, Stephan von Breuning and Georg Friedrich Treitschke) closely followed the original source, Jean-Nicolas Bouilly’s play Léonore, ou L’amour conjugal, which had originally been set to music by Pierre Gaveaux (Paris, 1798). If Bouilly’s play is designated as a “historical fact” (fait historique), then on the title page of Gaveaux’ opera there appeared a further clarification: “a fact from Spanish history” (fait historique Espagnol). It is traditionally believed that the choice of Spain as the setting for both the French original and the German adaptations of the libretto was based on censorship considerations. Indeed, Bouilly had good reasons not to advertise any connection between the plot of Léonore and the events of the Jacobin Terror of 1793. However, the “Spanish trace” is still present in Bouilly’s play and in the libretto of Fidelio. The plot of Bouilly’s Léonore might contain references to the medieval legend of the 10th century Count Fernán González, who, according to the epic poem composed three centuries later, was freed from captivity by his bride, the Infanta Sancha. Several books on this topic published in Spain during the 18th century were accompanied by illustrations reminiscent of the mise-en-scènes from the prison scene in Fidelio. The “Spanish trace” is visible both in the names and in the characters of the opera’s heroes, especially Léonore, Pizarro and Florestan (in some 19th-century adaptations of Fidelio, Florestan was given either a Spanish aristocratic surname or the name Ferdinando). The staging and costumes for Beethoven’s opera also contained features that clearly indicated the era of the late 16th–early 17th century, i.e., the time of the reigns of Philip II and Philip III. Although Fidelio was not staged in Spain until 1893, this opera became a repertoire piece in Spanish-speaking countries in the 20th and 21^st centuries.

Keywords: Beethoven, Fidelio, Bouilly, Léonore, ou L’amour conjugal, Spain, Opera House, medieval legend, Count Fernán González

For citation: Kirillina, L. V. (2024). “Spanish Trace” in the Plot, Libretto, and Stage Performances of Beethoven’s Opera Fidelio. Contemporary Musicology, 8(4), 40―63. https://doi.org/10.56620/2587-9731-2024-4-040-063