Beethoven: Leonore Overture No. 3 | Ádám Fischer and the Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg

Start the new year with Beethoven at his finest: The Leonore Overture No. 3, Op. 72b performed by the Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg under the baton of Ádám Fischer. This dramatic work was also the overture of the gala concert on the occasion of the International Classical Music Awards 2022 at the Philharmonie Luxembourg.

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 - 1827) wrote only one opera. He twice rewrote the original version of 1804/05, with the programmatic title Leonore, oder Der Triumph der ehelichen Liebe (Leonore, or the Triumph of Married Love) before he premiered it himself under the name Fidelio in 1814. There are four different overtures to the three versions of the opera, and Overture No. 3, Op. 72b even began its own “career”. To this day it’s a popular overture for concerts, usually being performed at the beginning of the program.

In itself, Leonore Overture No. 3 is an instrumental, abridged version of the opera Fidelio, the plot and moods of which it anticipates in concise form. Fidelio is a ‘rescue opera’, in which the heroine Leonore slips into the role of the titular jailer, in order to free her beloved husband Florestan from prison. The situation seems hopeless, however, as Florestan’s execution is imminent. At the last moment, a trumpet melody announces the redeeming and righteous minister, who will bring about Florestan’s liberation. This trumpet melody forms both the suspenseful climax of the opera Fidelio as well as the point at which the threads of the Leonore Overture converge (08:54) before the orchestra celebrates the triumph of freedom in a heroically serene round of melodies.

Born in Budapest, Ádám Fischer is one of the most important conductors of our time. Whether at the Bayreuth or Salzburg Festivals, at the Metropolitan Opera or the Teatro alla Scala in Milan, with the Vienna or Berlin Philharmonic, he is held in high esteem by audiences and musicians alike. In 2022, Fischer was presented with the International Classical Music Award for his life’s work.

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