Name: Fidelio
Genre: Music
Released: 1970-12-13
Duration: 1 h 53 min
Rating: 8.8
Cast: Gwyneth Jones, James King, Gustav Neidlinger

As much as I love the 1978 and 2002 productions, this is my favourite production of Beethoven's only opera Fidelio. It is simply wonderful, and very dramatically and musically powerful, helped by Karl Bohm's eloquent and detailed conducting and the direction of the last scene which does a lot with the dramatic and musical elements as it should do. I don't really need to say how amazing the music is, particularly O Namenlose Freude, O Welche Lust, In Des Lebens, the quartet Mir ist so Wunderbar and Leonore's Abscheulicher, and all of it is performed to outstanding effect. The acting and singing are superb. Gwyneth Jones moved me greatly as Leonore/Fidelio, and James King has such power to his singing and even looks like a broken prisoner. Gustav Neidlinger is ideally malevolent as Don Pizarro, Josef Griendl a sympathetic Rocco and Martti Talvela a rock solid and vocally resonant Fernando. The costumes and sets are effective and bring just the right mood. I personally could've done without some of the close-ups, but other than that I adored this Fidelio. 10/10 Bethany Cox

German cinema is famous for its historical depth, expressionist aesthetics, and social-political engagement. It has moved from Expressionism to political reckoning, from New German Cinema's raw realism to contemporary genre experiments. Its legacy lies in both technical innovation and deep explorations of history, morality, and philosophy.

The music genre features stories showcasing musical performances, music-related documentaries and recordings of live concerts and music festivals.

Prince and Apollonia Kotero in Purple Rain (1984)

The Biggest Movies and TV Coming in September

See which big screen releases you can watch from the comfort of your couch.

Theatrical Releases Coming to Streaming

Get a closer look at these actors from their many TV and streaming series roles.

Streaming Stars, Then and Now

Deutsche Oper Berlin, Richard-Wagner-Str., Berlin, Germany

Fidelio

Photos

Top Cast11

User reviews1

Related interests

Storyline

Did you know

Top picks

Details

Tech specs

Contribute to this page

More to explore

Recently viewed