OVERTURE: LEONORE NO. 3, OP. 72B 

Ludwig van Beethoven (baptized Bonn, Germany, December 17, 1770; d. Vienna, Austria, March 26, 1827), arr. Shai Wosner

Composed 1806, arr. 2025; 14 minutes

Condemning tyranny and praising freedom, the opera by Beethoven we now know as Fidelio first opened at the Theater an der Wien in Vienna on November 20, 1805. Then, it was known by Beethoven’s preferred title, Leonore, and the Leonore Overture No. 2 represents his first thoughts for its overture. After the opera’s initial lack of success, Beethoven wrote three subsequent overtures, with the shorter Fidelio overture traditionally being the overture of choice in the opera house. In the concert hall, however, it is another matter. So different are the four overtures in foreshadowing the drama to come that several conductors have followed Mendelssohn’s lead in 1840 in successfully performing all four overtures in the same concert without a feeling of repetition. No. 3 (1806) is the most frequently performed in concert and, like its predecessor, it has the scale and symphonic drama to quite upstage the opening scenes in the opera house. The overture essentially functions as a tone poem describing the drama of the opera itself. This centers on Leonore, who disguises herself as the prison guard Fidelio to rescue her husband Florestan, unjustly imprisoned by the tyrant Pizarro. She thwarts a planned murder, reveals her identity, and justice prevails as the minister arrives, restoring freedom and exposing corruption.