Fidelio Transmission Transcript
READ & INTERVIEW: Bliss Show Intro & Peter Gelb Interview
BENJAMIN BLISS: Hello, I’m Ben Bliss. Welcome to today’s performance of Beethoven’s Fidelio, in which love, justice and freedom triumph over hatred, corruption and tyranny. Joining me to talk about the only opera that Beethoven ever composed is Metropolitan Opera General Manager Peter Gelb. Hi, Peter.
PETER GELB: Hey, Ben.
BENJAMIN BLISS: Nice to see you. Thank you for being with us today.
PETER GELB: Thank you for being the host today.
BENJAMIN BLISS: It’s my pleasure.
PETER GELB: It’s great to have you. And welcome to all of our viewers around the world. You know, in the early 1800s when Fidelio was composed, Beethoven believed in the power of the republic, the right of the people to govern. That’s why Fidelio, Beethoven’s opera against tyranny and about individual resistance and heroism in the face of tyranny dealt an artistic blow to Napoleon’s ambitions to be the dictator of Europe.
And it’s why Fidelio is such an important opera to be performed today, when the free world is under the gravest threat since World War II. In the great “Abscheulicher” aria that Leonore disgusted as Fidelio sings in the first act, she calls out the tyrant who has kept her husband jailed as a political prisoner for being a monster and then sings about the power of her love to guide her fight for victory. That’s a message to dictators that rings true today.
Great art like Fidelio is a pillar of a free and just society, and the Metropolitan Opera in our own fight for a civilized world will always remain committed to its values of freedom from oppression.
My personal heroine is my wife, the conductor , Keri Lynn Wilson, founder of the Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra, who as I speak, is crossing the Ukrainian border for the sixth or seventh time since the invasion to perform for the liberty of that heroic and embattled nation. So, todays’ performance of Fidelio and other acts of artistic resistance symbolize a democratic world’s fight for its inalienable rights of justice, freedom and democracy. It also has some of the most heroically beautiful music ever composed.
BENJAMIN BLISS: Thank you so much for that, Peter. Beautiful.
PETER GELB: Thank you, thank you, Ben.
BENJAMIN BLISS: Before we get things rolling today, I have to ask you about the star of today’s show, soprano Lise Davidsen. What is it that she brings to this stage and this role that is so unique?
PETER GELB: Well, I would have to say that the Metropolitan Opera is the luckiest stage in the world to have her performing on it. You know, Lise is probably the greatest Wagnerian sopranos since Birgit Nilsson and that goes back to the ‘70s and ‘80s. She will be singing all of the great heroic soprano roles on our stage. And what’s extraordinary is that she’s singing right now pregnant with twins. This is actually her last performance before she goes on maternity leave. And then she returns next spring, uh, to sing Isolde in Tristan and Isolde so –
BENJAMIN BLISS: My gosh. What a force of nature she is. Thank you so much for joining us today, Peter.
PETER GELB: Thanks so much, Ben.
BENJAMIN BLISS: Congratulations on this.
PETER GELB: Thanks, thanks.
BENJAMIN BLISS: Thank you. In Beethoven’s Fidelio, the heroine Leonore bravely disguises herself as the young man Fidelio in order to rescue her husband, the political prisoner Florestan. Today we have the incomparable soprano Lise Davidsen singing this tour de force title role. Tenor David Butt Philip is as Florestan held captive by the villainous Don Pizarro sung by acclaimed bass-baritone Tomasz Konieczny. The distinguished bass René Pape is the jailer Rocco, and the superb cast also features Ying Fong, Magnus Dietrich and Stephen Milling. Conductor Susanna Mälkki is ready to lead today’s musical forces in Beethoven’s stirring ode to liberty. Here is Fidelio.
INTERVIEW: Bliss w/ René Pape & Tomasz Konieczny
BENJAMIN BLISS: All right, René, welcome. And Tomasz.
TOMASZ KONIECZNY: Yeah. Hi.
BENJAMIN BLISS: Thank you so much for joining me here today. We had a really, really good time listening to you in the first act. Bravo to both of you. So, I’d like to start with René. You sang this role of Rocco when this production was brand new, almost 25 years ago I don’t know where the time goes but I’m sure in the intervening years, your interpretation and your feelings about this character have only deepened. Can you talk to us about how your view of this character has changed over the years?
RENÉ PAPE: The character hasn’t changed but I have changed.
BENJAMIN BLISS: Yes.
RENÉ PAPE: And, uh – but on stage, the staging is I think almost exactly the same like, as – as much as I remember as 25 years ago.
BENJAMIN BLISS: Mm hmm.
RENÉ PAPE: But, of course, I’m getting a bit older. Now I am the age of the character.
BENJAMIN BLISS: Uh-huh.
RENÉ PAPE: And I have fantastic great colleagues so – which is really – it’s a demanding piece but it’s fun. Fun in the sense of making music with such great musicians.
BENJAMIN BLISS: Certainly, that makes all the difference. I know from experience. And speaking of experience, I know how fun it can be to play the villain. It’s usually a lot more fun than playing the sweet-faced young prince, I can tell you. What has it been like for you playing and inhabiting such a villainous evil character in this piece?
TOMASZ KONIECZNY: So, first of all, I’m very happy that I can be here and singing with this wonderful, wonderful legend. We say legend in Poland but also –
RENÉ PAPE: I’m still alive.
BENJAMIN BLISS: (Laughs)
TOMASZ KONIECZNY: But he’s a live legend. So, to – to play the bad guy is a special thing, um, because you have to find something in this role what is human. Because otherwise you have no – no chance. And Beethoven gave us not so many possibilities. So, that’s the most problematic thing. Because he’s just from the beginning to the end a very bad guy.
BENJAMIN BLISS: Right.
TOMASZ KONIECZNY: And it’s different, for example, by Alberich in The Ring, uh, the (indiscernible) – you have the possibility to – to play something, to have some – some, um, you know, some other emotions. Here it’s only hate and hate. But I try to do my best and I’m very happy to be here, uh, and I would like to greet my home city, Lodz. Uh, they look today everything in the – in the philharmonic in Lodz. So, wonderful.
BENJAMIN BLISS: I’m sure they’re happy to hear from you, and we certainly enjoy all the different layers you bring to the character. Uh, as an audience member, when we hear this music, it is kind of hard to believe that Beethoven only ever wrote just one opera. How would you both say that his operatic composition style for the orchestra, for the voice is similar to or different from the works of other composers, uh, that are in you repertoire?
RENÉ PAPE: Uh, of course it’s different. It’s, uh, totally different. Um, but as we do it with other composers, like Verdi, Wagner, Mozart as well, uh, Mussorgsky, uh, we try to find the right way for us, a different way, of course, for the composer – for the composition. Uh, Beethoven just wrote this one as an opera but you can feel that he is much more into, uh, symphonic music of course. So, uh, the singing is not always easy, especially the breathing in between words.
BENJAMIN BLISS: Mm hmm.
RENÉ PAPE: Because he – he wants more – more the symphonic man. But, uh, it’s always great to – to interpret that kind of music.
BENJAMIN BLISS: I’m sure.
RENÉ PAPE: With fantastic musicians together. And, uh, Beethoven is Beethoven. Like Mozart is Mozart and Verdi is Verdi.
BENJAMIN BLISS: Right. There’s no better way to say it. Beethoven is Beethoven.
RENÉ PAPE: Yeah.
BENJAMIN BLISS: Well ,thank you both so much for joining me. It was really a pleasure to speak with you both and toi toi for the second act.
RENÉ PAPE: And I want to say hello also to everybody who is watching, uh, this performance in Dresden or all over the world. And a special hello to my little Fritz.
TOMASZ KONIECZNY: Have a nice evening.
BENJAMIN BLISS: (Laughs) Thank you, fellas.
READ: Throw to tape
BENJAMIN BLISS: In the previous act we heard Lise Davidsen – Davidsen, rather – raise the roof with her performance of Leonore’s “Abscheulicher” aria, a bold cry against tyranny as well as an affirmation of the power of love. We recently spoke with Lise and conductor Susanna Mälkki about the timeless power of this great operatic soliloquy.
ROLL-IN B: “Abscheulicher” with Lise Davidsen and Susanna Mälkki
SUSANNA MÄLKKI: Beethoven wrote the first version of Fidelio right in the beginning of the 19th century. And we know that he was extremely inspired by the French Revolution. And of course the principles of Enlightenment were very much probably in his head when he wrote the story about this character, Leonore, who – who puts her own life at risk in order to save her beloved husband, Florestan.
LISE DAVIDSEN: The big struggle comes in the aria “Abscheulicher”. That is the moment where she realizes that it’s now or never. Fidelio has to arrive and find Florestan before it’s too late.
SUSANNA MÄLKKI: Leonore storms in in this state of anger, and we have this cloud of the raging strings.
LISE DAVIDSEN: It goes right into recit: “Abscheulicher! Wo eilst du hin?” “You monster, where are you going? And what's going to happen?” And it sets up the aria in a very high point of emotions. And you get a clear vision of – of all the things that she’s been hiding for all this time, and all the fear. But most of all, um, I guess the anger is, maybe what I feel the most in the beginning of this aria.
SUSANNA MÄLKKI: And then when her mind turns into the picture of – of her beloved, we have this beautiful chorale of the woodwinds, which in a way – it’s almost like the sky is suddenly open and she sees the vast picture and the beauty of life, and the heart opens. And little by little, she’s reminded of the beauty and the golden, precious moments of the past, which is the moment when the aria really opens, and those gorgeous horn melodies appear and intertwine. We have the horns together with the woodwinds, these little melodic lines, which are decorating this unbelievable long legato of Leonore singing about her love.
LISE DAVIDSEN: The beginning of the aria, the “Komm, Hoffnung,” which is in a way, uh, “Come – come, hope,” but also a bit of a prayer in many ways for – for Fidelio. It’s all kinds of questions that she puts out there, “What can I do? Why am I here?” It’s like you need a reminder of why you do what you do. And in that she’s, um, yeah – to God or to a higher power is what she’s laying her trust in, and – and her hope.
SUSANNA MÄLKKI: In the score, Beethoven writes these legato lines, which, you know, he ties over the notes with this very, very long line, which means that it’s supposed to be sung with just one breath. Just have this endless line flying. And I think the musical metaphor is exactly that. That you should be free to fly as a bird over this landscape. And then there is this moment of resolution when Leonore is absolutely clear about what she has to do.
LISE DAVIDSEN: As soon as the last part starts, um, it’s a very clear change musically. It’s a change of character, in a way, from – from insecurity, of love. It’s – it’s determination.
SUSANNA MÄLKKI: And – and these so-called “hunting horns”, they present a sort of call of destiny or call of the inner strength.
LISE DAVIDSEN: It’s so demanding. It’s these huge gaps, like she’s – she’s sort of building herself up. It’s surprisingly tricky at the end of the aria, but it's also very, very powerful.
SUSANNA MÄLKKI: The piece manages to deliver a message of humanity. And the message is still absolutely relevant. Humankind seems to be in a constant loop of making the same mistakes over and over. And there is greed, there is fight for power, there's vengeance. And these thematics, unfortunately, are – are not going out of fashion.
LISE DAVIDSEN: In terms of where the world is going, something I think about a lot is this hope that – that it will be good in the end, that we’ll find a solution to – to reconnect again, and to, how to say, to speak the same language. And, uh, we ask the questions and we hope that something – if it’s not love, maybe, our politicians, our higher – higher power will come and help us and – yeah, rescue us.
READ: Neubauer / Throw to break
BENJAMIN BLISS: It is certainly hard to imagine a more poignant aria for today’s trying times. The Met’s Live in HD series is made possible thanks to its founding sponsor, the Neubauer Family Foundation. Digital support is provided by Bloomberg Philanthropies. The Met Live in HD series is supported by Rolex. Today’s performance of Fidelio is being heard over the Robert K. Johnson Foundation Metropolitan Opera International Radio Network. We’ll be back after a short break.
READ: Throw to tape
BENJAMIN BLISS: Welcome back to backstage magic at the Met. Next month marks the return to cinemas of Mozart’s immortal masterpiece Le Nozze di Figaro, The Marriage of Figaro, with bass-baritone Michael Sumuel in the title role. Michael recently had a great success performing Figaro in a San Francisco Opera production. Here’s an excerpt of him singing the beloved Act One closer, “Non più andrai.”
INTERVIEW: Bliss w/ Michael Sumuel
BENJAMIN BLISS: Michael Sumuel is with me now. Hi, Michael. It’s great to see you.
MICHAEL SUMUEL: Good to see you.
BENJAMIN BLISS: Thanks for being here today, man.
MICHAEL SUMUEL: Thanks for having me.
BENJAMIN BLISS: My pleasure. So, it is hard to find an opera-lover out there who doesn’t count Le Nozze di Figaro among their all-time favorite operas. For you having sung this role, inhabited this character as many times as you have, what, uh – what is it that you bring to the title role? What makes it special for you?
MICHAEL SUMUEL: You know, for me it’s very special because it was the first full role that I ever performed in (indiscernible) School Opera at the end of my undergraduate studies. Um, it’s also the first role that I felt completely fit me. So, every time I step back into the role, I learn more about myself as an artist, um, and of course about my fellow artists in this wonderful opera. It’s – it’s an all-time favorite for sure.
BENJAMIN BLISS: It is amazing coming back to a role like that where you know that it hasn’t changed and so anything that’s different is you changing. Like coming back to a favorite novel or a piece of cinema. I love that.
MICHAEL SUMUEL: Yeah.
BENJAMIN BLISS: Uh, so this will be your third time in a Met cinema transmission but it’s your first time as the headliner. That’s got to feel pretty good, right?
MICHAEL SUMUEL: It’s – it’s an incredible honor to sing this at the Met but for the HD broadcast, to share this with opera-lovers, first-time goers, um, and especially people from all walks of life – um, in my life, in Texas, in Georgia, in the Bay Area, it’s an incredible opportunity. I’m – I’m very honored to be a part of it.
BENJAMIN BLISS: I believe it. I know exactly that feeling. Except not as a headliner. That’s pretty cool. You have to tell me what’s like afterwards. (Laughs) Le Nozze di Figaro is consistently hailed as one of the all-time great operas in the repertoire. In your opinion, outside of just your role, what gives this piece its staying power, musically, thematically?
MICHAEL SUMUEL: Well, art is not just meant to entertain, it’s meant to challenge. And so there are themes with, uh, the political structure, the aristocracy, um, that very much ring true today. So, Mozart had a way of having a – a finger on the pulse of what was happening then and how it rings true to our current times. Um, and so finding productions that highlight that, um, Mozart has done all of the work in the sheet music. It’s humanity on paper and, uh, we just have the opportunity to bring that to life again.
BENJAMIN BLISS: It’s going to be thrilling. We can’t wait to see it. Michael, we’ll see you in Le Nozze di Figaro on April 26th.
MICHAEL SUMUEL: Thank you.
BENJAMIN BLISS: Thank you for coming out to speak with me today.
MICHAEL SUMUEL: thank you so much.
BENJAMIN BLISS: Cheers. See you soon.
READ: PSA / Fundraising / Throw to Season Preview
BENJAMIN BLISS: When Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro arrives on screens next month, it is sure to work its customary magic on movie theatre audiences all over the world. One of opera’s great human comedies, Figaro stirs the senses with its mix of love, class conflict and that sublime score. But as captivating as this masterpiece is sure to be in cinemas, you can’t really experience its full transformative power unless you witness it here in the auditorium with us. Nothing compares to live opera in the opera house. So, please, come to the Met on your next visit to New York or visit your local opera company.
Today’s production of Fidelio has been a resounding dramatic success since its premiere in 2000. And with a majestic artist like Lise Davidsen in the title role, this Fidelio demonstrates the great operatic power and artistic grandeur that the Met is capable of. But presenting an absorbing work like this with a cast like the one we’re fortunate to have today does come at a great expense. Ticket sales here at the Met cover only a fraction of our costs. So, the Met relies on opera-lovers like you to help make up the difference. If you are able to make a donation, please visit metopera.org/donate. You can also text HDLIVE to 44321 to make a contribution, or you can call us at 212-362-0068. We thank you deeply for your support.
The Met has three more movie theatre presentations coming up this season. Let’s have a look at a preview.
INTERVIEW: Bliss w/ Ying Fang & Magnus Dietrich
BENJAMIN BLISS: Those are definitely three operas you will not want to miss. I now have the pleasure to speak with our Marzelline and our Jaquino, soprano Ying Fang and tenor Magnus Dietrich. Hello, guys.
YING FANG: Hi.
MAGNUS DIETRICH: Hey.
BENJAMIN BLISS: Thank you so much for being here. It’s a treat to get to talk to you. (Laughs) So, this is obviously a very powerful opera, very moving, yet it opens with a scene that’s almost comedic with the two of you. It was a lot of fun to see. So, how do you see your roles within the context of this drama?
YING FANG: Well, for me, I think – well, at the beginning, yes, maybe it’s a little bit comic. But in the end for her it’s definitely a tragedy.
BENJAMIN BLISS: Yeah.
YING FANG: It’s probably comic out there, you now, she’s not able to recognize a woman in disguise – but, you know, for her in the end it’s truly a tragedy. And – but Marzelline is such a sunny, bubbly, happy person so it’s really wonderful to play a role like that.
BENJAMIN BLISS: Something tells me she’ll find the bright side somehow in the end.
YING FANG: Somehow. Let’s hope.
BENJAMIN BLISS: What do you think, Magnus?
MAGNUS DIETRICH: Well, I think it’s – it’s a sad story because, uh, he’s truly in love with Marzelline and, um, she’s showing him clear signs that she doesn’t want him but he’s – from the very beginning he’s in another world. He’s just – he’s just not getting it.
BENJAMIN BLISS: Mm hmm.
MAGNUS DIETRICH: And while it’s a sad story, but it’s also kind of funny I think to – to watch it.
BENJAMIN BLISS: Yep.
MAGNUS DIETRICH: To see him fail and – the poor guy. And it’s funny to play actually.
BENJAMIN BLISS: I think we can all identify with, uh, Jaquino’s struggle – I mean, a little more than Marzelline’s but we’ve all kind of been there.
MAGNUS DIETRICH: Yeah.
BENJAMIN BLISS: You also both get to sing in the stunning quartet near the top of the opera. What’s it like to sing this unbelievable music by Beethoven on this stage with operatic legends like Lise Davidsen and René Pape?
YING FANG: I think it’s probably one of the most beautiful pieces of music written. So, it’s really a privilege, you know, to part of it and also to sing with such an amazing quartet of singers and to really witness Beethoven’s genius writing of this. Because the four characters are all having completely different ideas and thoughts at the same time and it’s just wonderful.
BENJAMIN BLISS: Amazing.
YING FANG: Yeah.
BENJAMIN BLISS: What would you say?
MAGNUS DIETRICH: Yeah, the – the – like, you know, Rocco, Marzelline and Leonore, they have these beautiful lines. The music is amazing. And then Jaquino comes in and he’s so desperate and angry that he can’t get Marzelline and he’s – he’s disturbing kind of the music.
BENJAMIN BLISS: Mm hmm.
YING FANG: Yeah.
MAGNUS DIETRICH: It’s so brilliant because it fits in but he’s disturbing the lines because he’s feeling all this bad emotions. It’s also very – very cool.
BENJAMIN BLISS: We’ll have to find some time to ask Lise and René what it’s like to sing with legends with you as well.
MAGNUS DIETRICH/ YING FANG: (Laugh)
BENJAMIN BLISS: Anyway, listen, it’s been great speaking with both of you. Thank you for taking the time and, uh, we’ll see you at the curtain call, if not before.
YING FANG: Yeah.
MAGNUS DIETRICH: Thank you very much.
BENJAMIN BLISS: Cheers.
YING FANG: Thanks.
MAGNUS DIETRICH: Bye bye.
INTERVIEW: Bliss w/ David Butt Philip
BENJAMIN BLISS: And, finally, I’m going to speak with our heroic tenor, Mr. David Butt Philip. David, hello.
DAVID BUTT PHILIP: How are you doing, all right?
BENJAMIN BLISS: Hello. You’re a little underdressed, I have to say.
DAVID BUTT PHILIP: Yeah, sorry, I don’t dress up for the opera.
BENJAMIN BLISS: I got really dressed up and I’m a little disappointed. (Laughs) I’m just kidding. Anyway, listen, uh, we’ve been waiting a whole act to meet your Florestan, who has been imprisoned for some time now in a dungeon set that awaits us right back here. What are you feeling? What’s going through your head in those moments before the curtain goes up for your big entrance in Act Two?
DAVID BUTT PHILIP: It’s actually my favorite moment in the whole opera, the intro to my aria – the prelude to Act Two. It – it sets this extraordinary mood which we haven’t encountered yet in the piece before this point. It’s very dark, it’s very brooding, it’s very dramatic.
BENJAMIN BLISS: Mm hmm.
DAVID BUTT PHILIP: And quite unlike the music from the first half. And it – it’s an incredible atmosphere when the curtain goes out, suddenly a switch goes in your head and you’re in this dark place. It’s wonderful.
BENJAMIN BLISS: Mm hmm, yeah, like going to Gomo, like in that flow state.
DAVID BUTT PHILIP: Game face, yeah.
BENJAMIN BLISS: Game face, exactly. (Laughs) Coming down the tunnel. Fidelio is operatically in a category by itself since Beethoven wrote no other operas. Vocally, how does the role of Florestan compare with other operas you’ve sung, other roles in your repertoire? How is it different? How is it the same?
DAVID BUTT PHILIP: It’s in a similar category in terms of the – the vocal color that’s needed and the tessitura. That’s the range of the part.
BENJAMIN BLISS: Mm hmm.
DAVID BUTT PHILIP: Um, but it’s very different because it’s a lot earlier, in terms of when it was written –
BENJAMIN BLISS: Ah.
DAVID BUTT PHILIP: – than almost anything else that I sing. Um, the vast majority of my repertoire is from the late 19th and 20th century.
BENJAMIN BLISS: I see.
DAVID BUTT PHILIP: Um, but also in a way it’s easier than a lot of the roles I sing, although it’s technically challenging – because it’s actually quite short. Because I’m only on stage for 50 minutes out of the whole night.
BENJAMIN BLISS: Right.
DAVID BUTT PHILIP: Which, when you spend your life singing Wagner and Strauss, is like a quarter of an opera.
BENJAMIN BLISS: Yeah, it’s almost like a vacation. (Laughs)
DAVID BUTT PHILIP: Yeah. Almost.
BENJAMIN BLISS: And I know you performed this opera with Lise Davidsen previously in other productions at other opera houses. What makes this production on this stage particularly different?
DAVID BUTT PHILIP: Um, that’s a good question. I don’t really know. I mean, the – the thing that always stands out for me about singing on this stage is, weirdly, for such a huge space being double the size of almost any other opera house that I sing in, the acoustic is amazing.
BENJAMIN BLISS: Isn’t it, though?
DAVID BUTT PHILIP: And you get so much sound back from the auditorium, uh, particularly with a set like this, which is quite closed and made of quite hard materials.
BENJAMIN BLISS: Mm hmm.
DAVID BUTT PHILIP: These are things that singers really, really like.
BENJAMIN BLISS: We sure do. And it’s amazing in a room like this, because the room is really part of the instrument.
DAVID BUTT PHILIP: Yeah.
BENJAMIN BLISS: And this is one of the best out there.
DAVID BUTT PHILIP: Absolutely.
BENJAMIN BLISS: Listen, David, I know you have to go put on your shackles to get ready for Act Two. We don’t want to keep you from that. Thank you so much for speaking with us before your big entrance and toi toi for Act Two.
DAVID BUTT PHILIP: Thanks very much.
BENJAMIN BLISS: Talk to you soon.
DAVID BUTT PHILIP: Cheers.
READ: Throw to Part 2
BENJAMIN BLISS: At the end of the previous act, Leonore, in disguise as Fidelio, has almost achieved her goal of finding her husband. But now her tragic task is to help dig his grave. When the curtain goes up on Act Two, we meet the imprisoned and mistreated Florestan, who is hallucinating about his beloved wife. Here is the dramatic and inspiring conclusion of Fidelio.