“Leonore”, the earliest version of “Fidelio” premiered in 1805, contains especially interesting differences, particularly in the characterisation of Leonore and Florestan. 

In the end, everything turns out well: the villain Pizarro is imprisoned, the minister Don Fernando frees the unjustly imprisoned Florestan, and his wife Leonore is acclaimed. And nevertheless, everything is different from usual, for those involved do not find themselves in the light-filled prison courtyard with the monument of the King in the middle gleaming in the sun, but still in the dark dungeon, only dimly lit by flickering torches. The minister has come from Florestan as a simple “rescuer” and not, at least not explicitly, as a representative of the “best King” who attempts to restore justice amongst the “brothers”. He also initially distances himself linguistically from the general praise of the eponymous heroine with the words “Wer ein holdes Weib errungen, stimm’ in ihren Jubel ein”, before he then joins in the general – “unsern” – rejoicing. An ending which is largely alien to the idea of social balance, which is so important to the later “Fidelio” – and which can therefore also be a realistic reflection of our times.

We are talking about the earliest stage of work of Beethoven’s “Leonore/Fidelio”, the opera which received its premiere on 20 November 1805 conducted by the composer at the Theater an der Wien, and was then substantially altered for performances in both 1806 and 1814. In good time for the next Beethoven anniversary year in 2027, the “Leonore” of 1805 will be published in a new edition, freed for the first time of all additions and alterations of later years, and taking into account all the surviving sources. There are therefore many good reasons to enter into the adventure of discovering Beethoven’s opera anew.

But there are other respects in which the “Leonore” of 1805 has enormous potential. Two numbers survive in several versions: Marzelline’s love aria “O wär’ ich schon mit dir vereint”, which came right at the beginning of the opera in 1805, exists in three versions: two in the well-known key sequence c minor–C major, and one in the major key throughout. The latter expresses in music the joie-de-vivre of the fifteen-year-old, who sings and laughs “the whole day through”, whereas the other two versions place Marzelline’s longing more in the centre. The duet while they work “Nur hurtig fort, nur frisch gegraben” for Leonore and Rocco also exists in two different versions.

In several numbers, Beethoven, who was able to work in the Theater an der Wien with outstanding musicians, allowed the concertante instruments to play solo: in the duet “Um in der Ehe froh zu leben”, later cut, the solo violin accompanies the lovestruck Marzelline; Leonore’s disguise as Fidelio is strengthened musically by the “male” solo cello. Leonore’s great solo scene is shaped by solo bassoon and three solo horns, in Florestan’s scene the timpani tuned to an “unheard of” tritone paint the threatening darkness of the dungeon, and in the Finale the singing oboe melody symbolizes the divine moment of the rescue.

Whereas “Fidelio” is set entirely in the early 19th century, the first Leonore is still clearly musically characterized by the period of around 1800. In some numbers there are fermata to be ornamented, including in Marzelline’s aria and in her father, the gaoler Rocco’s aria, which was cut for 1806 “Hat man nicht auch Gold beineben”. Such ornaments enhance the status of what were (intended) to be subsidiary roles and thereby relativize the distance to the more serious parts. As her milieu changes, the female heroine Leonore is therefore musically better integrated into the family life of Marzelline and Rocco.

Leonore and Florestan differ considerably in their roles from their later characterisation in Fidelio. The drama in Leonore’s great scene is created in this early version of the opera through extended coloraturas. At the premiere, this role was sung by Anna Milder, just 19 years old at the time. She also remained Beethoven’s Leonore in 1806 and 1814, and during this time her voice became “more grown up”. In this sense, the role became more dramatic in the later composition of Fidelio. The sources for this scene contain another surprise: they consistently give Leonore’s aria text as “Komm, Hoffnung, laß den letzten Stern des Müden nicht erbleichen” – “des Müden”, that is, only Florestan. Leonore pleads here for her beloved husband, not for both of them as a couple.

Whereas in “Fidelio” Leonore is the veritable opponent of the governor Pizarro, in the “Leonore” of 1805 Florestan is shown as an active counterpart to Pizarro. The latter, in addition to his revenge aria “Ha! welch’ ein Augenblick!” at the end of the Finale of the second act, has one further appearance with the chorus. The soldiers accompanying him assure him that they will defend him  – “und flöß’ auch unser Blut!” Pizarro and his entourage therefore regard Florestan at this point as still so powerful that he could be dangerous to Pizarro. Florestan’s solo scene follows directly at the beginning of the third act. The scene itself only survives in fragmentary form (the beginning of the aria is missing), and the edition can therefore only offer the word text here. Performers are naturally free to deal with the blank passage as they wish. Furthermore, Florestan is depicted as much more rational than later in “Fidelio”. At peace with himself, he remains convinced of the justness of his actions until the end: “Florestan hat recht gethan.” A greater contrast to the delirium of the “Fidelio” Florestan, close to death, can scarcely be imagined.

The deeply moving quartet “Er sterbe!” in “Fidelio” thrives on the tension between the high note in Leonore’s outing “Tödt’ erst sein Weib!” and the low note when she threatens Pizarro with the pistol: “Noch einen Laut – und du bist todt!” In Leonore, the second climax is also a top note, so that the physical tension is comparable with the first passage. In addition, Leonore closes the scene with a “durchdringenden Schrey”. And thus the dramatic high point of the opera has a different perspective.

Editorially, the edition also treads new ground. It adopts Beethoven’s text underlay, oriented towards pronunciation, in which at held notes or melismas the final letters of a syllable are frequently only placed on the last note, or are combined with the following syllable. So, for example, at the beginning of the chorus at the prisoners’ exercise – in this version of the opera occurring daily – the lyrics “O wel-che Lu-st! In frey-er Luft Den A-them leicht zu he-ben” seem to savour the word “Lust” more strongly, extended over almost two bars. Marzelline’s joie de vivre is also perhaps a little more sparkling in her aria through the “glü-ck-lich”, and the canonic quartet “Mir ist so wunderbar!” perhaps a little more lost in reverie through “wun-der-ba-r”. 
The characteristics of Beethoven’s orthography, such as the spelling of expressions separately which we understand as compound words, have also been reproduced. Through this, both components of a word receive the same weight. Pizarro’s “Mörder Lust” allows him to appear even more threatening; with “Himmels Wonne” Marzelline’s dreams of marriage seem even sweeter. And when Leonore sings, strengthened through “die Pflicht der treuen Gatten Liebe” (and not: “der Gattenliebe”), this underlines the thematic heart of the opera.

The musicians and users of this edition are brought closer to the sources through fidelity to the text, so they gain an even more direct impression than has been possible in any previous edition of Beethoven’s opera, regardless of the published version. The “Leonore” of 1805 will be published by G. Henle Verlag in the Complete Edition of Beethoven’s Works edited by the Beethoven-Haus Bonn. In addition, the edition of the 1806 version is already in preparation, and “Fidelio” will then follow. These two versions also have their own special attractions. But the Beethoven anniversary year 2027 can become a festival of the “Leonore” of 1805 with the new edition!

Christine Siegert
(from [t]akte 2/2025)
(translation: Elizabeth Robinson)