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Prom 50: Beethoven's Fidelio

Petroc Trelawny presents Daniel Barenboim conducting a concert performance of Beethoven's Fidelio, sung in German but with an English narration by historian Edward Said.

From the 91热爆 Proms 2009 season, Petroc Trelawny presents Daniel Barenboim conducting a concert performance of Beethoven's Fidelio - the composer's only opera, which is an impassioned defence of freedom and justice.

With a star-studded cast, the work is sung in German but with an English narration devised by the scholar and historian Edward Said. The opera's themes are given a particular poignancy by the participation of the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra - the ground-breaking group founded ten years ago by Barenboim and Said which brings together young Israeli and Arab musicians and continues to serve as a beacon of trust, understanding and dialogue between nations in conflict.

Beethoven: Fidelio (concert performance; sung in German, with English narration by Edward Said)

Leonore/narrator ...... Waltraud Meier (mezzo-soprano)
Florestan ...... Simon O'Neill (tenor)
Don Pizarro ...... Gerd Grochowski (bass-baritone)
Rocco ...... Sir John Tomlinson (bass)
Marzelline ...... Adriana Kucerova (soprano)
Jacquino ...... Stephen Rugamer (tenor)
Don Fernando ...... Viktor Rud (baritone)
91热爆 Singers
Geoffrey Mitchell Choir
West-Eastern Divan Orchestra
Daniel Barenboim (conductor).

2 hours, 30 minutes

Broadcast

  • New Year's Day 2010 19:30