It is a cry for freedom and humanity. The fact that the Semperoper released Beethoven’s “Fidelio” on the last anniversary of the GDR was a political issue. Now the opera is back on the schedule.
Those who were there will probably never forget it. When the already severely ailing GDR celebrated its last birthday on October 7, 1989, the Semperoper in Dresden had prepared a special gift: Ludwig van Beethoven’s only opera “Fidelio”. Director Christine Mielitz had the protagonists act in a stage set with walls, barbed wire, a high-security wing and a watchtower.
The then Dresden SED district leader Hans Modrow, who was seen by many in the population as a beacon of hope for better times, is said to have said to Mielitz during rehearsals: “Aha, a prison. Oh yes, well then carry on.” When the play finally came on stage, the GDR was in the dissolution phase. On October 7th and in the days before, tens of thousands of people took to the streets in protest in Dresden.
Dresden’s “Fidelio” performance becomes a historic moment
“Participants and spectators know it is a historic hour,” the Dresden cultural journalist Kerstin Leiße later wrote about the performance. “A moment that dissolves the boundaries between artistic expression and real life, as shocking as it is unique.” Kammersänger Jürgen Hartfiel, who as Minister Don Fernando is supposed to proclaim humanity and justice in the finale, lost his voice because of his excitement.
«The ensemble finds itself in a whirlpool of emotions. In the action on stage – like a mirror – thoughts break themselves and wander outside, where not silent protest, but ever-increasing but peaceful rebellion meets state counter-violence,” Leiße described her feeling. When the piece ended, the audience stood up, turned around and looked into the boxes – where the leaders were sitting.
Parallels to the reality of life in the GDR
Many quotes from “Fidelio” seem as if they were applied to the situation at the time. “Oh what a joy to breathe lightly in the open air,” sings the prisoners’ choir and a little later: “Hope gently whispers to me: We will be free, we will find peace.” Even sentences like “Speak quietly! Hold back! We are listening with our ears and our eyes. The echoes echoed; the parallels to the reality of life in the country were too clear.
35 years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, the Semperoper has once again scheduled a series of performances after a long absence from “Fidelio”. The first was on German Unity Day. The audience was moved and stood in the hall applauding for minutes. Only looking at the box was no longer necessary. “I am very happy to be able to experience this production again – 35 years later,” said Stefan Thiede from Dresden: “An evening that lasts.”
The opera is also very emotional for artists
Thiede’s mother Helga sang the main female role, Leonore. To this day, Stefan Thiede considers the Mielitz production to be “a brave and great step that, even in retrospect, still completely grips the audience emotionally.” «On October 7, 1989, the audience in the hall went wild. My mother reported that the artists themselves were so moved that a continuation seemed almost impossible.”
Stefan Thiede didn’t tell his mother that he was 17 years old and was out on the streets during protests. She shouldn’t worry about him. Back then, development happened in fast motion. A few days after the premiere, the Semperoper traveled to what was then Leningrad and Minsk for a guest performance – also with “Fidelio”. When the ensemble returned, Erich Honecker was no longer head of state or party.
The message of “Fidelio” is still relevant today
The Semperoper also creates a reference to time for the current “Fidelio” series. The piece “remains disturbing to this day,” writes the Saxon State Opera in its program booklet. The comprehensive realization of humanistic ideals in Europe and the world remains a task. Further performances of “Fidelio”: October 9th, October 12th, October 17th and October 26th.
