Liberation opera, revolutionary artwork, an ode to fidelity in love and utopian drama – Fidelio, Beethoven’s only opera, is all of these things. The numerous characterisations and interpretations add an aura of mystery to the opera but demonstrate above all that it is a unique work of musical theatre that expresses the hope for a humane future with justice and liberty for all. The stage direction is in the hands of the Ukrainian director Andriy Zholdak. His visual imagery, replete with symbols, is reminiscent of great film directors such as Andrei Tarkovsky and Ingmar Bergman. Using a distinctive style, Zholdak explores the deeper layers of the universal human drama of Fidelio. These layers can sometimes be difficult to follow.
