I have long been of the opinion that Beethoven’s Fidelio is structurally flawed. The first and second acts are so different intone and dramatic intensity that it never seems quite to hang together. Tobias Kratzer obviously shares this view but being smarter than me finds a way to leverage it. For his production at the Royal Opera House in 2020 he takes the two acts and effectively makes the second a commentary on the first. It’s worth quoting his own words:
Like no other opera, Beethoven’s Fidelio falls into two unequal halves. Act I is a historical melodrama on freedom and love in the post-Revolutionary era. Act II is a political essay on the responsibility of the individual in the face of the silent majority, a musical plea for active empathy.
Ajdad – Ancestors (Echoes of Persia) is a new CD from the Amir Amiri Ensemble. I had a chance to hear them play at Alliance Française on Friday night as well as listening to the CD which provided some extra perspective. It’s always interesting to watch musicians. Most of the music on the CD is composed by Amir Amiri with a couple of arrangements of other composers’ work. Amiri’s roots are in the classical Persian tradition but he goes well beyond that with quite strong Arabic influence as well as Turkish, Kurdish and Western classical elements. In a sense it’s a nod to what was once a more integrated musical culture that to some extent has been fractured by the political divisions of the last 100 years or so. 
Opera’s back with the start of a new COC season and more. Here’s a look at what I think looks interesting in October.
operaramblings 