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BY LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN
October 14–30, 2021
To Break Free, She Had to Break InDisguised as a guard, one woman infiltrates a nightmarish detention center to unravel the mystery of her activist-husband’s disappearance.Enter into a modern-day reflection of incarceration with director Matthew Ozawa’s brand-new production of Beethoven’s only opera, starring Elza van den Heever, Russell Thomas and Greer Grimsley. Music Director Eun Sun Kim conducts the triumphant score, a precursor to Beethoven’s later work, the Ninth Symphony.
Meet the Cast / Listen to the Pre-Opera Talk / Read the Reviews
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Libretto By Joseph Sonnleithner and Georg Friedrich Treitschke | Sung in German with English supertitles
Running time is approximately 2 hours, 30 minutes with one intermission
The health and safety of our patrons, employees, and artists is our number one priority. Click here to our visitor guidelines.
It’s the drama of the TV series Prison Break fused with the dystopian, revolutionary verve and the strong female leads of films like The Hunger Games. Plus, it’s Beethoven’s only opera!
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Pre-Opera Talk
View the Digital Program Book
Program Articles
Wir werden frei, wir finden Ruh
View an exhibit of art by incarcerated persons at San Quentin State Prison in the War Memorial Opera House and online.
Presented in partnership with the William James Association.
Learn More
Join us at the Commonwealth Club of California on October 25 for a discussion about the exhibit.
SF Opera’s Fidelio Is More Than Worth the Wait
–San Francisco Classical Voice
Soprano Elza van den Heever...and tenor Russell Thomas.... rose to their respective star moments—a luminous account of the Act 1 aria “Komm, Hoffnung” for her, a compelling rendition of his Act 2 solo
–San Francisco Chronicle
There were excellent contributions, though, from bass James Creswell as the jailer Rocco, from bass-baritone Greer Grimsley as the fiendish Don Pizarro, and from bass Soloman Howard as the late-arriving liberator Don Fernando
The San Francisco Opera Chorus...sang with cohesion and conviction.
One woman dares to hope that her husband, a dissident long thought to be dead, might still be alive—in one of the most dangerous detention centers on earth.
READ COMPLETE SYNOPSIS
PERFORMANCES
October 14, 17, 20, 22, 26, 30
* San Francisco Opera Debut
New San Francisco Opera production.
Previous performances of Fidelio can be found in our Archive.
The health and safety of our patrons, employees, and artists is our number one priority. Here are some of the ways we’re keeping everyone safe.
Breathe easy knowing that all ventilation systems in the War Memorial Opera House meet the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) guidelines.
If for any reason you have to miss a performance due to COVID, we will work with you to exchange your tickets into another performance or arrange for a refund.
All of San Francisco Opera’s health and safety protocols have been developed with a group of University California, San Francisco (UCSF) doctors.
Read all of our Visitor Guidelines here.
This production is made possible, in part, by The Dolby Family; Louise Gund; John A. and Cynthia Fry Gunn; Phyllis C. Wattis Fund for New Productions; Koret Foundation; Bernard and Barbro Osher; Jan Shrem and Maria Manetti Shrem; and Joan and David Traitel.
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