Fidelio, Playbill of the Worldpremiere, Vienna, Kärntnertortheater, May 23, 1814

Fidelio (Op. 72) is a German opera in two acts by Ludwig van Beethoven. It is Beethoven's only opera. The German libretto is by Joseph Sonnleithner from the French of Jean-Nicolas Bouilly which had been used for the 1798 opera Léonore, ou L’amour conjugal by Pierre Gaveaux, and for the 1804 opera Leonora by Ferdinando Paer (a score of which was owned by Beethoven). The opera tells how Leonore, disguised as a prison guard named "Fidelio", rescues her husband Florestan from death in a political prison.

Background[link]

Bouilly's scenario fits Beethoven's aesthetic and political outlook: a story of personal sacrifice, heroism and eventual triumph (the usual topics of Beethoven's "middle period") with its underlying struggle for liberty and justice mirroring contemporary political movements in Europe.

As elsewhere in Beethoven's vocal music, the music is not especially kind to the singers. The principal parts of Leonore and Florestan, in particular, require great vocal skill and endurance in order to project the necessary intensity, and top performances in these roles attract admiration.

Some notable moments in the opera include the "Prisoners' Chorus", an ode to freedom sung by a chorus of political prisoners, Florestan's vision of Leonore come as an angel to rescue him, and the scene in which the rescue finally takes place. The finale celebrates Leonore's bravery with alternating contributions of soloists and chorus.

Performance history[link]

The theatrical mask contemplated by a putto on the Beethoven monument by Kaspar von Zumbusch (Vienna, 1880) commemorates Beethoven's sole opera in the city where it made its debut.

Like many other works in Beethoven's career, Fidelio went through several versions before achieving full success. The opera was first produced in a three-act version at Vienna's Theater an der Wien, on 20 November 1805, with additional performances the following two nights. The 1805 and 1806 versions are referred to, by academic convention, as Leonore in order to distinguish them from the final two-act version. However all three versions were premiered as Fidelio.

The success of these performances was greatly hindered by the fact that Vienna was under French military occupation, and most of the audience were French military officers. After this premiere, Beethoven was pressured by friends to revise and shorten the opera into just two acts, and he did so with the help of Stephan von Breuning. The composer also wrote a new overture (now known as "Leonore No. 3"; see below). In this form the opera was first performed on 29 March and 10 April 1806, with greater success. Further performances were prevented by a dispute between Beethoven and the theater management.

In 1814 Beethoven revised his opera yet again, with additional work on the libretto by Georg Friedrich Treitschke. This version was first performed at the Kärntnertortheater on 23 May 1814, under the title Fidelio. The 17-year-old Franz Schubert was in the audience, having sold his school books to obtain a ticket. The increasingly deaf Beethoven led the performance, "assisted" by Michael Umlauf, who later performed the same task for Beethoven at the premiere of the Ninth Symphony. The role of Pizarro was taken by Johann Michael Vogl, who later became known for his collaborations with Schubert. This version of the opera was, finally, a great success for Beethoven, and Fidelio has been an important part of the operatic repertory ever since.

Beethoven cannot be said to have enjoyed the difficulties posed by writing and producing an opera. In a letter to Treitschke he said, "I assure you, dear Treitschke, that this opera will win me a martyr's crown. You have by your co-operation saved what is best from the shipwreck. For all this I shall be eternally grateful to you."^[1]

The opera was published in all three versions as Beethoven's Opus 72.

[edit] The overtures to Fidelio

Beethoven struggled to produce an appropriate overture for Fidelio, and ultimately went through four versions. His first attempt, for the 1805 premiere, is believed to have been the overture now known as "Leonore No. 2". Beethoven then focused this version for the performances of 1806, creating "Leonore No. 3". The latter is considered by many listeners as the greatest of the four overtures, but as an intensely dramatic, full-scale symphonic movement it had the effect of overwhelming the (rather light) initial scenes of the opera. Beethoven accordingly experimented with cutting it back somewhat, for a planned 1808 performance in Prague; this is believed to be the version now called "Leonore No. 1". Finally, for the 1814 revival Beethoven began anew, and with fresh musical material wrote what we now know as the Fidelio overture. As this somewhat lighter overture seems to work best of the four as a start to the opera, Beethoven's final intentions are generally respected in contemporary productions.

Gustav Mahler introduced the practice, common until the middle of the twentieth century, of performing "Leonore No. 3" between the two scenes of the second act. In this location, it acts as a kind of musical reprise of the rescue scene that has just taken place. A new, modern-styled production that premiered in Budapest in October 2008, for example, features the "Leonore No. 3" overture in this location.^[2]

Roles[link]

Note: the second version of the opera premiered on 29 March 1806 with the same cast as the first premiere, except with Joseph August Röckel as Florestan. The only other performance of the second version was on 10 April 1806.

Synopsis[link]

Two years prior to the opening scene, the nobleman Florestan has exposed or attempted to expose certain crimes of the nobleman Pizarro. In revenge, Pizarro has secretly imprisoned Florestan in the prison over which Pizarro is governor.

The jailer of the prison, Rocco, has a daughter, Marzelline, and a servant (or assistant), Jaquino. Florestan's wife, Leonore, came to Rocco's door dressed as a boy seeking employment, and Rocco hired her.

On orders, Rocco has been giving Florestan diminishing rations until he is nearly starved to death.

Place: A Spanish state prison, a few miles from Seville

Time: Late 18th century

Act 1[link]

Florestan (Günther Treptow) and Leonore (Karina Kutz); September 1945, Deutsche Oper Berlin

Jaquino and Marzelline are alone. Jaquino asks Marzelline when she will agree to marry him, but she says that she will never marry him now that she has fallen in love with Fidelio, who is Leonore in disguise. (Jetzt, Schätzchen, jetzt sind wir allein ["Now, darling, we are alone"]). Jaquino leaves, and Marzelline expresses her desire to become Fidelio's wife (O wär ich schon mit dir vereint ["If only I were already united with thee"]). Rocco and Jaquino enter, looking for Fidelio. Fidelio enters carrying a heavy load of newly repaired chains. Rocco compliments Leonore on her skill, and misinterprets her modest reply as hidden attraction to his daughter. Marzelline, Leonore, Rocco, and Jaquino sing a quartet about the love Marzelline has for Fidelio (Mir ist so wunderbar ["A wondrous feeling fills me"], also known as the Canon Quartet).

Rocco tells Leonore that as soon as the governor has left for Seville, she and Marzelline can be married. He tells them, however, that unless they have money, they will not be happy. (Hat man nicht auch Gold beineben ["If you don't have money on the side"]). Leonore says that she wants something else at least as much as money: To know why Rocco will not permit her to help him in the dungeons when he always comes back out of breath. Rocco says that there is a prison where he can never take her, and inside is a man who has wasted away for two years because of his powerful enemies. Marzelline begs her father to keep Leonore away from such a terrible sight. Instead Rocco and Leonore sing of courage (Gut, Söhnchen, gut ["All right, son, all right"]), and soon Marzelline joins in their acclamations.

All but Rocco leave. A march is played as Pizarro enters with guards. Rocco gives Pizarro a message with a warning that the minister plans a surprise visit tomorrow to investigate accusations that Pizarro is a tyrant. Pizarro exclaims that he cannot let the minister discover the imprisoned Don Florestan, who has been thought dead. Instead, Pizarro will murder Florestan (Ha, welch ein Augenblick! ["Hah! What a moment!"]). Pizarro orders that a trumpet be sounded at the minister's arrival. He offers Rocco money to kill Florestan, but Rocco refuses (Jetzt, Alter, jetzt hat es Eile! ["Now, old man, we must hurry!"]), and instead Pizarro orders him to dig a grave in the ruined well in the dungeons. When the grave is ready, Rocco should sound the alarm for Pizarro to come disguised into the dungeon, and kill Florestan himself. Leonore has seen Pizarro plotting, but has not overheard what he said. She is agitated, but thoughts of her husband calm her down (Abscheulicher! Wo eilst du hin? ... Komm, Hoffnung, lass den letzten Stern ["Scum! Where are you going? ... Come, hope, let the last star"]).

Jaquino begs Marzelline to marry him, but she refuses. Leonore, hoping to find Florestan, asks Rocco to let the poor prisoners roam in the garden and enjoy the beautiful weather. Marzelline also begs him, and Rocco agrees to distract Pizarro while the prisoners are set free. The prisoners, overjoyed at their freedom, sing joyfully (O welche Lust ["O what a joy"]), but, remembering that they could be caught, are soon quiet.

Rocco reenters and tells Leonore of his success with Pizarro: Pizarro will allow the marriage, and Leonore will be permitted to join Rocco on his rounds in the dungeon (Nun sprecht, wie ging's? ["Speak, how did it go?"]). They prepare to go to the cell of a prisoner who, says Rocco, must be killed and buried within the hour. Leonore is so shaken that Rocco tries to persuade her to stay behind, but she insists on coming. As they prepare to leave, Jaquino and Marzelline rush in and tell Rocco to run: Pizarro has learned that the prisoners are free, and he is furious (Ach, Vater, Vater, eilt! ["O, father, father, hurry!"]).

Before they can move, Pizarro enters and demands an explanation. Rocco pretends that they are celebrating the King's naming day, and suggests quietly that Pizarro save his anger for the prisoner in the dungeons below. Pizarro tells him to hurry and dig the grave, then announces that the prisoners will be shut in again. Rocco, Leonore, Jacquino, and Marzelline reluctantly usher the prisoners back to their cells. (Leb wohl, du warmes Sonnenlicht ["Adieu, warm sunshine"]

Act 2[link]

Rocco (Wilhelm Schirp) and Marzelline (Irma Beilke); September 1945, Deutsche Oper Berlin

Florestan is alone in his cell, deep inside the dungeons. He sings first of his trust in God, then has a vision of Leonore coming to save him (Gott! Welch Dunkel hier! ["God! What darkness here"]... In des Lebens Frühlingstagen ["In the spring days of life"]). He collapses and falls asleep. Rocco and Leonore come to dig his grave and find him asleep. As they dig Rocco urges Leonore to hurry (Wie kalt ist es in diesem unterirdischen Gewölbe! ["How cold it is in this underground chamber"] ... Nur hurtig fort, nur frisch gegraben). This is the Gravedigging Duet.

Florestan awakes and Leonore recognizes him. When Florestan learns at last that he is in Pizarro's prison, he asks that a message be sent to his wife, Leonore Florestan, but Rocco says it's impossible. Florestan begs for a drop to drink, and Rocco tells Leonore to give him one. Florestan does not recognize Leonore but tells her she will be rewarded in Heaven (Euch werde Lohn in bessern Welten ["You shall be rewarded in better worlds"]). She begs Rocco to be allowed to give Florestan a crust of bread, and he agrees. Florestan eats.

Rocco obeys his orders and sounds the alarm for Pizarro, who appears and asks if all is ready. Rocco says that it is and tells Leonore to leave, but instead she hides. Pizarro reveals his identity to Florestan, who accuses him of murder (Er sterbe! Doch er soll erst wissen ["Let him die! But first he should know"]). As Pizarro brandishes a dagger, Leonore leaps between him and Florestan and reveals her identity. Pizarro raises his dagger to kill her but she pulls a gun and threatens to shoot him.

Just then the trumpet is heard, announcing the arrival of the minister. Jaquino enters, followed by soldiers, to announce that the minister is waiting at the gate. Rocco tells the soldiers to escort Governor Pizarro upstairs. Florestan and Leonore sing to their victory as Pizarro declares he will have revenge, and Rocco expresses his fear of what is to come (Es schlägt der Rache Stunde ["Revenge's bell tolls"]). Together, Florestan and Leonore sing a love duet (O namenlose Freude! ["O unnamed joy!"]).

Here overture "Leonore No. 3" is sometimes played.

The prisoners and townsfolk sing to the day and hour of justice which has come (Heil sei dem Tag! ["Hail to the day!"]). The minister, Don Fernando, announces that tyranny has ended. Rocco enters, with Leonore and Florestan, and he asks Don Fernando to help them (Wohlan, so helfet! Helft den Armen! ["So help! Help the poor ones!"]). Rocco explains how Leonore disguised herself as Fidelio to save her husband. Marzelline is shocked. Rocco describes Pizarro's murder plot, and Pizarro is led away to prison. Florestan is released from his chains by Leonore, and the crowd sings the praises of Leonore, the loyal savior of her husband (Wer ein holdes Weib errungen ["Who has got a good wife"]).

Instrumentation[link]

The orchestra consists of 1 piccolo, 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, contrabassoon, 4 horns, 2 trumpets, 2 trombones, timpani, and strings. There is also an offstage trumpet.

Reception[link]

Fidelio was Arturo Toscanini's first complete opera performance to be broadcast over the NBC radio network, in December 1944, by the NBC Symphony Orchestra, featuring soloists from the Metropolitan Opera (though a shortwave broadcast of one act, conducted by Toscanini, had earlier been relayed from an August 16, 1936 performance at Salzburg.) Divided into two consecutive broadcasts, the 1944 performances were later issued by RCA Victor on LPs and CDs. Toscanini made it clear that Beethoven believed in liberty and was opposed to tyrants such as Napoleon Bonaparte; in the conductor's opinion, Beethoven would have likely opposed Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini as well.

Conductor Wilhelm Furtwängler remarked in Salzburg in 1948, not long after the end of World War II and fall of Nazism:

"[T]he conjugal love of Leonore appears, to the modern individual armed with realism and psychology, irremediably abstract and theoretical.... Now that political events in Germany have restored to the concepts of human dignity and liberty their original significance, this is the opera which, thanks to the music of Beethoven, gives us comfort and courage.... Certainly, Fidelio is not an opera in the sense we are used to, nor is Beethoven a musician for the theater, or a dramaturgist. He is quite a bit more, a whole musician, and beyond that, a saint and a visionary. That which disturbs us is not a material effect, nor the fact of the 'imprisonment'; any film could create the same effect. No, it is the music, it is Beethoven himself. It is this 'nostalgia of liberty' he feels, or better, makes us feel; this is what moves us to tears. His Fidelio has more of the Mass than of the Opera to it; the sentiments it expresses come from the sphere of the sacred, and preach a 'religion of humanity' which we never found so beautiful or necessary as we do today, after all we have lived through. Herein lies the singular power of this unique opera.... Independent of any historical consideration ... the flaming message of Fidelio touches deeply.

We realize that for us Europeans, as for all men, this music will always represent an appeal to our conscience.^[3]

Recordings[link]

	"Komm Hoffnung" performed by Alice Guszalewicz
Problems listening to this file? See media help.

See also[link]

• Rescue opera

References[link]

Notes

Sources

• Holden, Amanda (Ed.), The New Penguin Opera Guide, New York: Penguin Putnam, 2001. ISBN 0-14-029312-4
• Warrack, John, and Ewan West (1992). The Oxford Dictionary of Opera. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-869164-5

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Fidelio

Wikisource has the text of the 1920 Encyclopedia Americana article Fidelio.

• Brooklyn Repertory Opera: Fidelio page
• Description of Beethoven's Fidelio
• Fidelio: Free scores at the International Music Score Library Project
• Fidelio at the Opera Company of Philadelphia
• Opera Guide Synopsis – Libretto – Highlights
• "Opera in a nutshell" Soundfiles (MIDI)
• Performance history, from opera.stanford.edu
• Overture Video: "Leonore No. 3", David Bernard conducting the Park Avenue Chamber Symphony
• Program notes from "Apollo's Fire", reporting the tale about Schubert selling his school books to attend the premiere. The source is Schubert's friend Moritz von Schwind.
• Recording of "Komm Hoffnung" by Lotte Lehmann in MP3 format
• Léonore, ou l'amour conjugal; fait historique en deux actes et en prose mêlée de chantes (French) (origin of Fidelio's libretto)
• Review: Fidelio played by Daniel Barenboim and the West-Eastern Divan orchestra

Zubin Mehta, 2007)

Zubin Mehta (ज़ुबिन मेहता); pronounced [ˈzuːbɪn ˈmeːɦt̪aː] (born 29 April 1936) is an Indian conductor of western classical music. He is the Music Director for Life of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra.

Biography[link]

Zubin Mehta was born into a Parsi family in Bombay, British India, the son of Mehli and Tehmina Mehta. His father Mehli Mehta was a violinist and founding conductor of the Bombay Symphony Orchestra. Mehta is an alumnus of St. Mary's School, Mumbai, and St. Xavier's College, Mumbai. Mehta initially intended to study medicine, but eventually became a music student in Vienna at the age of 18, under Hans Swarowsky. Also at the same academy along with Mehta were conductor Claudio Abbado and conductor–pianist Daniel Barenboim.

Mehta's first marriage was to Canadian soprano Carmen Lasky in 1958. They have a son, Mervon and a daughter, Zarina. In 1964, they divorced.^[1] Two years after the divorce, Carmen married Zubin's brother, Zarin Mehta, now the Executive Director of the New York Philharmonic. In July 1969, Mehta married Nancy Kovack, a former American film and television actress.^[2] Mehta is a permanent resident of the United States, but retains his Indian citizenship.

Conducting career[link]

Zubin Mehta conducting the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra in Mumbai, October 2008

In 1958, Mehta made his conducting debut in Vienna. The same year he won the International Conducting Competition in Liverpool and was appointed assistant conductor of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic. Mehta soon rose to the rank of chief conductor when he was made Music Director of the Montreal Symphony Orchestra in 1960, a post he held until 1967. In 1961, he was named assistant conductor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic; however, the orchestra's music director designate, Georg Solti, was not consulted on the appointment, and Solti subsequently resigned in protest;^[3] soon after, Mehta himself was named Music Director of the orchestra, and held the post from 1962 to 1978.

In 1978 Mehta became the Music Director and Principal Conductor of the New York Philharmonic and remained there until his resignation in 1991, becoming the longest holder of the post.

The Israel Philharmonic Orchestra (IPO) appointed Mehta its Music Advisor in 1969, Music Director in 1977, and made him its Music Director for Life in 1981.^[4]

Since 1985, Mehta has been chief conductor of the Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino in Florence. Additionally, from 1998 until 2006, Mehta was Music Director of the Bavarian State Opera in Munich. The Munich Philharmonic named him its Honorary Conductor. Since 2005, Mehta has been the main conductor (together with Lorin Maazel) of the Palau de les Arts, the new opera house of the Ciutat de les Arts i les Ciències, in Valencia, Spain.

Mehta conducted the Vienna New Year's Concert in the years 1990, 1995, 1998 and 2007. He has also made a recording of Indian instrumentalist Ravi Shankar's Sitar Concerto No. 2, with Shankar and the London Philharmonic Orchestra.

1990s[link]

In 1990, he conducted the Orchestra del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino and the Orchestra del Teatro dell'Opera di Roma in the first ever Three Tenors concert in Rome, joining the tenors again in 1994 at the Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles. In between those appearances he conducted the historic 1992 production of Tosca in which each act took place in the actual setting and at the actual time specified in the score. This production starred Catherine Malfitano in the title role, Plácido Domingo as Cavaradossi and Ruggero Raimondi as Baron Scarpia. Act I was telecast live from Rome's basilica of Sant'Andrea della Valle on Saturday, 11 July, at noon (Central European Daylight Savings Time); act II was telecast later that evening from the Palazzo Farnese at 9:40 p.m.; act III was telecast live on Sunday, 12 July, at 7:00 am from the Castel Sant'Angelo, also known as Hadrian's Tomb.

In June 1994, Mehta performed the Mozart Requiem, along with the members of the Sarajevo Symphony Orchestra and Chorus at the ruins of Sarajevo's National Library, in a fund raising concert for the victims of armed conflict and remembrance of the thousands of people killed in the Yugoslav wars. On 29 August 1999, he conducted Mahler Symphony No. 2 (Resurrection), at the vicinity of Buchenwald concentration camp in the German city of Weimar, with both the Bavarian State Orchestra and the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, sitting alongside each other. He toured his native country India and home city Mumbai (Bombay) in 1984, with the New York Philharmonic, and again in November–December 1994, with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, along with soloists Itzhak Perlman and Gil Shaham. In 1997 and 1998, Mehta worked in collaboration with Chinese film director Zhang Yimou on a production of the opera Turandot by Giacomo Puccini which they took to Florence, Italy, and then to Beijing, China, where it was staged, in its actual surroundings, in the Forbidden City with over 300 extras and 300 soldiers. for nine historic performances. The making of this production was chronicled in a documentary called The Turandot Project which Mehta narrated.

2000s[link]

Zubin Mehta, 2010

On 29 November 2005 Mehta appeared with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra performing Bruckner's Symphony No. 8. On 26 December 2005, the first anniversary of the Indian Ocean Tsunami, Mehta and the Bavarian State Orchestra performed for the first time in Chennai (formerly called Madras) at the Madras Music Academy. This tsunami memorial concert was organised by the Madras German consulate along with the Max-Mueller Bhavan/Goethe-Institut. 2006 was his last year with the Bavarian State Orchestra.

Performance style[link]

Mehta received praise early in his career for dynamic interpretations of the large scale symphonic music of Anton Bruckner, Richard Strauss, Gustav Mahler and Franz Schmidt. His conducting is renowned as being flamboyant, vigorous and forceful.

Honors and awards[link]

Mehta at a ceremony to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in March 2011

Mehta's name is mentioned in the song "Billy the Mountain" on the 1972 album Just Another Band from L.A. by Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention.

At the Israel Prize ceremony in 1991, Mehta was awarded a special prize in recognition of his unique devotion to Israel and to the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra.

In 1995, Laureate of the Wolf Prize in Arts.

In 1999, Mehta was presented the "Lifetime Achievement Peace and Tolerance Award" of the United Nations.

The Government of India honoured Mehta in 1966 with the Padma Bhushan and in 2001 with India's second highest civilian award, the Padma Vibhushan.^[5]

In 2005, he was voted the 117th-greatest Israeli of all time, in a poll by the Israeli news website Ynet to determine whom the general public considered the 200 Greatest Israelis.^[6]

In September 2006 the Kennedy Center announced Mehta as one of the recipients of that year's Kennedy Center Honors, presented on 2 December 2006.

On 3 February 2007, Mehta was the recipient of the Second Annual Bridgebuilder Award at Loyola Marymount University.

In 2007 he received the prestigious Dan David Prize.

Conductor Karl Böhm awarded Mehta the Nikisch Ring – the Vienna Philharmonic Ring of Honor.

Mehta is an honorary citizen of Florence and Tel Aviv. He was made an honorary member of the Vienna State Opera in 1997. In 2001 he was bestowed the title of "Honorary Conductor" of the Vienna Philharmonic and in 2004 the Munich Philharmonic awarded him the same title, as did the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino in 2006. At the end of his tenure with the Bavarian State Opera he was named Honorary Conductor of the Bavarian State Orchestra and Honorary Member of the Bavarian State Opera, and the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde, Wien, appointed him honorary member in November 2007.

In October 2008, Mehta received the Praemium Imperiale (World Culture Prize in Memory of His Imperial Highness Prince Takamatsu), Japan.

On 1 March 2011, Mehta received the 2,434th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

On 2 October 2011 he received the Echo Klassik in Berlin, for his life's work.^[7]

Films[link]

Mehta's life has been documented in Terry Sanders' film Portrait of Zubin Mehta. A documentary film about Mehta, Zubin and I, was produced by the grandson of an Israeli harpist who played with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra before Mehta assumed the helm. The filmmaker joins the orchestra on a tour of Mumbai and meets with him for two interviews, in India and Tel Aviv.^[8]

In Christopher Nupen's 1969 documentary The Trout about a performance of Schubert's Trout Quintet in London by Jacqueline du Pré, Daniel Barenboim, Pinchas Zukerman and Itzhak Perlman, Mehta plays the double bass.^[9]

Educational projects[link]

In 2009, Mehta established Mifneh (Hebrew for "change"), a music education program for Israeli Arabs, in cooperation with Bank Leumi and the Arab-Israel Bank. Three schools, in Shfaram, the Jezreel Valley and Nazareth, are taking part in the pilot project.^[10]

He and his brother Zarin constitute the Advisor Council of the Mehli Mehta Foundation.^[11]

See also[link]

• List of Israel Prize recipients

References[link]

Bibliography[link]

• Martin Bookspan and Ross Yockey, Zubin: The Zubin Mehta Story
• Renate von Matuschka, Die Partitur meines Lebens.

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Zubin Mehta

• Official website
• Zubin Mehta at Allmusic
• Zubin Mehta at the Internet Movie Database
• Dan David Prize laureate 2007

Gundula Janowitz (born August 2, 1937 in Berlin, Germany)^[1] is an Austrian lyric soprano singer of operas, oratorios and concerts. She is one of the most renowned opera singers of the 20th century and was pre-eminent in the 1960s and 1970s.

Career[link]

Janowitz grew up in Graz, Austria, where she became a naturalised Austrian.^[2] She studied at the Graz Conservatory in Austria,^[3] and had already begun to sing at the highest level by the end of the 1950s (Haydn's The Creation, with Herbert von Karajan in 1960). In 1959, Karajan engaged her as Barbarina in Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro at the Vienna State Opera, of which she became a permanent member in 1962. In the 1960s and 1970s, she became one of the most popular singers in her field internationally and she developed a comprehensive and widely-followed discography of works ranging from Johann Sebastian Bach to Richard Strauss, in cooperation with the most prominent conductors (her mentor at times, Karajan, as well as Otto Klemperer, Eugen Jochum, Leonard Bernstein, Rafael Kubelík, Karl Böhm, Georg Solti, Carlos Kleiber, etc.)

One of the emphases of Janowitz's work was the development of song recitals, which she gave several times at the Salzburg Festivals. Following her vocal career, she was active as a vocal teacher. In 1990, she temporarily took over the position of Opera Director in Graz.^[3]

In 1978, Gundula Janowitz was awarded the Joseph Marx Music Prize of the state of Styria, Austria, named for the composer, Joseph Marx.^[4]

Janowitz appeared on many of the great stages of the world, including Glyndebourne Festival Opera, the Salzburg Easter Festivals, the Metropolitan Opera, the Paris Opéra, the Royal Opera House. She was made a Kammersängerin in 1970.^[3] In 1973, she sang the part of the Countess in a now legendary new production of Le nozze di Figaro (with Georg Solti as conductor, Giorgio Strehler as director and Ezio Frigerio as set designer).

Her farewell premiere was at the Vienna State Opera in the title role of Gluck's Iphigénie en Aulide (with Charles Mackerras as conductor, Claus Helmut Drese as director, and Hans Schavernoch as set designer). Janowitz made her official farewell from the stage in 1990.

Voice and repertory[link]

Gundula Janowitz's voice is distinguished by its very bright, pure, crystalline, tremolo-free sound with tight, rapid vibrato, and by her even breathing technique. She kept her youthful, angelic tone and freshness well into her mature years. Like her predecessors, Elisabeth Grümmer and Maria Stader, who had similar timbre to hers, and like her contemporary, Elizabeth Harwood, Janowitz mastered first and foremost the high and middle register and lyrical-emotional expression. Despite her comparatively weak sound projection, she occasionally performed in dramatic roles (Sieglinde, Leonore, Elsa) or comic roles (Marzelline, Rosalinde), but she was most highly regarded as Fiordiligi, Countess Almaviva, Pamina, Agathe, Arabella, Ariadne, the Angel Gabriel (The Creation), and Countess Madeleine, and in sacred music. She was also a leading interpreter of Richard Strauss "Four Last Songs".^[1] With a few exceptions, she avoided foreign-language roles (although recordings exist of her singing Don Carlos and Verdi's Requiem and all three Mozart/DaPonte operas in Italian).

An excerpt of her portrayal of the Figaro Countess in a duet with Swiss soprano Edith Mathis features prominently in the 1994 film The Shawshank Redemption.

Selected discography[link]

• With Otto Klemperer: The Magic Flute
• With Herbert von Karajan: The Creation, The Seasons, Die Walküre, Götterdämmerung, St Matthew Passion, Mass in B minor, Fidelio (as Marzelline), Ninth Symphony, Missa Solemnis, A German Requiem, Four Last Songs
• With Leonard Bernstein: Fidelio (as Leonore)
• With Eugen Jochum: Carmina Burana
• With Carlos Kleiber: Der Freischütz
• With Karl Böhm: Così fan tutte, The Marriage of Figaro, Die Fledermaus, The Seasons, Capriccio
• With Rafael Kubelík: Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, Lohengrin
• With Rudolf Kempe: Ariadne auf Naxos
• With Karl Richter: Christmas Oratorio, Messiah, Orfeo ed Euridice,Mass in B minor
• With Hans Knappertsbusch: Parsifal (1962, as Flower Girl)
• 15 Lieder by Franz Schubert, with Charles Spencer (piano)
• Schubert Lieder, with Irwin Gage (piano). Includes "Gretchen am Spinnrade", "Die Männer sind méchant", and "Der Hirt auf dem Felsen".

References[link]

1. ^ ^{a b} "Janowitz, Gundula" by Alan Blyth, Grove Music Online (Subscription required)
2. ^ "Gundula Janowitz 70" by Manuel Brug, Die Welt (2 August 2007) (German)
3. ^ ^{a b c} Gundula Janowitz at bach-cantatas.com
4. ^ Joseph Marx: The Life and Works of the Composer Joseph Marx

External links[link]

• Complete discography
• Janowitz sings Mozart
• Gundula Janowitz at the Internet Movie Database

Sir John Vickers is a British economist, and Warden of All Souls College, Oxford.

Education[link]

Sir John was educated at Eastbourne Grammar School and Oriel College, Oxford, culminating in his graduating with a DPhil from Oxford.

Career[link]

After a period working in the oil industry, he taught economics at Oxford University and was Drummond Professor of Political Economy from 1991 to 2008. His academic posts have also included the London Business School, the Woodrow Wilson School at Princeton University and the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. He was President of the Institute for Fiscal Studies, 2003–2007, and of the Royal Economic Society, 2007–10.

From 1998–2000 he was Chief Economist at the Bank of England and a member of the Monetary Policy Committee. From 2000–05 he was Director General/Chairman of the Office of Fair Trading. He was knighted in 2005.

Since October 2008, he has been Warden of All Souls College, Oxford.

In June 2010, he became Chair of the UK's newly created Independent Commission on Banking (ICB).^[1] The ICB's task is to consider structural and related non-structural reforms to the UK banking sector to promote financial stability and competition (in the aftermath of the banking crisis of 2008). The commission made its recommendations to the UK government in September 2011, recommending a number of important measures, namely the introduction of the ring fencing of retail from investment banking, keeping 17-20% of certain assets as "loss-absorbers", using Lloyds branch sale as opportunity to bring in competitor and the implementation of a new system to help customers switch current accounts. The reforms are to be implemented by 2019 at the latest at a cost to the banks of between £4bn-7bn.^[2]

Research and publications[link]

John Vickers has written widely on economic topics. His current research concerns the economics of competition and regulation.^[3]

References[link]

v t e The Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee
	Governor: Sir Edward George (June 1997–June 2003)
	June 1998-May 1999:	George | King | Buiter | Goodhart | Plenderleith | Clementi | Julius | Budd | Vickers
	June 1999-May 2000:	George | King | Buiter | Goodhart | Plenderleith | Clementi | Julius | Vickers | Wadhwani
	June 2000-September 2000:	George | King | Plenderleith | Clementi | Julius | Vickers | Wadhwani | Allsopp | Nickell

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Theo Adam, 1987

Theo Adam (born 1 August 1926) is a distinguished German classical bass-baritone who had an active international career in operas, concerts, and recitals from the 1940s through the 1990s. He particularly excelled in portraying roles from the operas of Richard Wagner. On the concert stage, he was a much admired Bach singer and also drew acclaim for his interpretation of the title character of Felix Mendelssohn's Elijah.

Biography[link]

Born in Dresden, Adam sang with the Dresdner Kreuzchor as a boy. He studied singing with Rudolf Dietrich between 1946 and 1949. He made his professional opera debut in his native city as the Hermit in Der Freischütz at the Semperoper in 1949. In 1952 he joined the roster of singers at the Berlin State Opera. That same year he made his first appearance at the Bayreuth Festival in a small role. He returned annually to Bayreuth for many years, taking on the role of Heinrich der Vogler in Lohengrin in 1954, Titurel (and one of the Gralsritter) in Parsifal in the same year, Fasolt in Das Rheingold in 1958, and Wotan in Der Ring des Nibelungen in 1963. He eventually added Amfortas in Parsifal, Hans Sachs and Veit Pogner in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, and the title role in The Flying Dutchman to his Bayreuth performance credits.

Adam made his début at the Royal Opera, London as Wotan in 1967. He made his first appearance at the Salzburg Festival as Ochs in Richard Strauss's Der Rosenkavalier in 1969, returning there three years later to sing the title role in Alban Berg's Wozzeck. At the Theater an der Wien he portrayed Pizarro in Ludwig van Beethoven's Fidelio in a 1970 production celebrating the composer's 200th birthday. He also portrayed the title role in a new production of Don Giovanni at the Vienna State Opera in 1972.

At the Metropolitan Opera, the bass-baritone debuted as Hans Sachs on 7 February 1969 with Pilar Lorengar as Eva, John Alexander as Walther von Stolzing, and Joseph Rosenstock conducting. That same year he sang in performances of Der Ring des Nibelungen (as Wotan), opposite Birgit Nilsson, Régine Crespin, Lili Chookasian, and Jon Vickers, conducted and directed by Herbert von Karajan. He returned to the Met in 1972 to sing Hans Sachs and Wotan again with a similar cast that now also included Gwyneth Jones. After a sixteen year absence, Adam returned to the Met for the last time in March 1988 to portray Wotan in Die Walküre with Peter Hofmann as Siegmund, Sabine Hass as Sieglinde, and conductor James Levine.^[1]

Adam appeared in a number of world premieres during his career. He notably created the title roles in Paul Dessau's Einstein (1974, Berlin) and Friedrich Cerha's Baal (1981, Salzburg) and the role of Prospero in Luciano Berio's Un re in ascolto (1984, Salzburg). In 1979, the artist was named a Kammersänger.

Adam's discography includes Così fan tutte (1969), Fidelio (1969 and 1979), Der fliegende Holländer (with Anja Silja, conducted by Otto Klemperer, 1968), Der Freischütz (1973 and 1985), Hänsel und Gretel (1970), Leonore (with Edda Moser and Richard Cassilly, 1976), Die Meistersinger (conducted by von Karajan, 1970), Parsifal (as Amfortas, opposite René Kollo, 1975), Der Ring des Nibelungen (conducted by Karl Böhm, 1966–67; and by Marek Janowski, 1980–1983), Tannhäuser (1968–69), Wozzeck (1970 and 1973), and Die Zauberflöte (as Sarastro, 1968; elsewhere as the Sprecher). Also notable is the recording of the premiere of Berio's Un re in ascolto (with Karan Armstrong, led by Lorin Maazel, 1984). His non-operatic recordings include the Angel Raphel in Haydn's Die Schöpfung, Bach's Christmas Oratorio, and the Mozart/Süssmayr Requiem.

On DVD is found Adam's 1968 Hamburg film of Fidelio, with Richard Cassilly, Anja Silja, and Lucia Popp.

Adam has written two books about his life, career, and perspective on opera, Seht, hier ist Tinte, Feder, Papier …: Aus der Werkstatt eines Sängers (Berlin, 1980) and Die hundertste Rolle, oder, Ich mache einen neuen Adam (Munich, 1987).

References[link]

• Hamilton, David. (1987). The Metropolitan Opera Encyclopedia: A Comprehensive Guide to the World of Opera. New York, London, Toronto, Sydney, Tokyo: Simon and Schuster. p. 12. ISBN 0-671-61732-X.
• Rosenthal, Harold and John Warrack. (1979, 2nd ed.). The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Opera. London, New York and Melbourne: Oxford University Press. p. 2. ISBN 0-19-311318-X.
• Sadie, Stanley and Christina Bashford. (1992). The New Grove Dictionary of Opera. London: Macmillan Publishers Ltd. Vol. 1, p. 16. ISBN 0-935859-92-6.
• Sadie, Stanley and John Tyrrell. (2001). The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians. London: Macmillan Publishers Ltd. Vol. 1, p. 134. ISBN 0-333-60800-3.
• Warrack, John and Ewan West. (1996 3rd ed.). The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Opera. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 2. ISBN 0-19-280028-0.

External links[link]

• Biography (Bach Cantatas)
• Biography (Universal Music Classics Group (on-line music store))
• Discography (Capon's Lists of Opera Recordings)
• MetOpera database
• Theo Adam at the Bayreuth Festival