AllMovie

Otto Schenck staged and directed this production of Ludwig von Beethoven's two-act 1805 opera Fidelio at the Vienna State Opera, filmed live and now available in this home video release. The production stars three operatic giants: tenor René Kollo, soprano Gundula Janowitz and Lucia Popp. As the only opera authored by Beethoven, the story dramatizes the plight that befalls Florestan - the only political dissident brave enough to openly criticize the criminal misdeeds of governor Don Pizarro, he winds up thrown into a subterranean dungeon. While his wife, Leonora, slips into the guise of the title character and attempts to rescue her beloved, Pizarro sets out to extinguish Florestan's life. This particular version boasts musical accompaniment by the chorus and opera of the Wiener Staatsoper, as conducted by the legendary Leonard Bernstein.