Beethoven: Fidelio, Op. 72 Davidsen, Elsner, Zeppenfeld, Landshamer, Kränzle, Groissböck, Frey, Dresdner Philharmonie & Marek Janowski

• Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 - 1827): Fidelio, Op. 72:
• 1Beethoven: Fidelio, Op. 72: Overture06:33
• Fidelio, Op. 72, Act I:
• 2Beethoven: Fidelio, Op. 72, Act I: Jetzt, Schätzchen, jetzt sind wir allein04:26
• 3Beethoven: Fidelio, Op. 72, Act I: Jaquino! Jaquino!00:28
• 4Beethoven: Fidelio, Op. 72, Act I: O wär’ ich schon mit dir vereint03:40
• 5Beethoven: Fidelio, Op. 72, Act I: Die Stunde naht00:42
• 6Beethoven: Fidelio, Op. 72, Act I: Mir ist so wunderbar04:47
• 7Beethoven: Fidelio, Op. 72, Act I: Höre, Fidelio00:25
• 8Beethoven: Fidelio, Op. 72, Act I: Hat man nicht auch Gold beineben02:27
• 9Beethoven: Fidelio, Op. 72, Act I: Es wäre mir so lieb00:59
• 10Beethoven: Fidelio, Op. 72, Act I: Gut, Söhnchen, gut06:06
• 11Beethoven: Fidelio, Op. 72, Act I: March02:04
• 12Beethoven: Fidelio, Op. 72, Act I: Wo sind die Depeschen?00:39
• 13Beethoven: Fidelio, Op. 72, Act I: Ha! Ha! Ha! Welch ein Augenblick03:05
• 14Beethoven: Fidelio, Op. 72, Act I: Hauptmann!00:17
• 15Beethoven: Fidelio, Op. 72, Act I: Jetzt, Alter, jetzt hat es Eile!04:38
• 16Beethoven: Fidelio, Op. 72, Act I: Abscheulicher! Wo eilst du hin?07:04
• 17Beethoven: Fidelio, Op. 72, Act I: Rocco, ich ersuchte Euch00:30
• 18Beethoven: Fidelio, Op. 72, Act I: O welche Lust06:22
• 19Beethoven: Fidelio, Op. 72, Act I: Nun sprecht, wie ging’s?04:38
• 20Beethoven: Fidelio, Op. 72, Act I: Ach, Vater, Vater eilt!00:40
• 21Beethoven: Fidelio, Op. 72, Act I: Verweg’ner Alter!01:43
• 22Beethoven: Fidelio, Op. 72, Act I: Leb’ wohl, du warmes Sonnenlicht03:47
• Fidelio, Op. 72, Act II:
• 23Beethoven: Fidelio, Op. 72, Act II: Gott! Welch Dunkel hier!08:59
• 24Beethoven: Fidelio, Op. 72, Act II: Wie kalt ist es01:39
• 25Beethoven: Fidelio, Op. 72, Act II: Nur hurtig fort, nur frisch gegraben03:40
• 26Beethoven: Fidelio, Op. 72, Act II: Er erwacht!01:02
• 27Beethoven: Fidelio, Op. 72, Act II: Euch werde Lohn in besser’n Welten05:35
• 28Beethoven: Fidelio, Op. 72, Act II: Ist alles bereit?00:05
• 29Beethoven: Fidelio, Op. 72, Act II: Er sterbe!03:26
• 30Beethoven: Fidelio, Op. 72, Act II: Vater Rocco! Der Minister kommt an!00:05
• 31Beethoven: Fidelio, Op. 72, Act II: Es schlägt der Rache Stunde01:15
• 32Beethoven: Fidelio, Op. 72, Act II: Meine Leonore00:35
• 33Beethoven: Fidelio, Op. 72, Act II: O namenlose Freude!02:51
• 34Beethoven: Fidelio, Op. 72, Act II: Gute Botschaft!00:26
• 35Beethoven: Fidelio, Op. 72, Act II: Heil sei dem Tag01:58
• 36Beethoven: Fidelio, Op. 72, Act II: Des besten Königs Wink und Wille01:17
• 37Beethoven: Fidelio, Op. 72, Act II: Wohlan, so helfet!03:00
• 38Beethoven: Fidelio, Op. 72, Act II: O Gott! O Gott!03:19
• 39Beethoven: Fidelio, Op. 72, Act II: Wer ein holdes Weib errungen03:48
• Total Runtime01:49:00

Info for Beethoven: Fidelio, Op. 72

After their acclaimed recording of Weber’s Freischütz, the Dresdner Philharmonie and its Principal conductor Marek Janowski present yet another German opera classic with Beethoven’s Fidelio. They work together with a stellar cast — well-seasoned in German opera — including Lise Davidsen (Fidelio/Leonore), Christian Elsner (Florestan), Georg Zeppenfeld (Rocco), Christina Landshamer (Marzelline), Cornel Frey (Jaquino), Johannes Martin Kränzle (Don Pizzarro) and Günther Groissböck (Don Fernando). This should have been a live concert recording, but Covid-19 frustrated those plans. Luckily, it turned out possible to record Beethoven’s masterpiece in two studio sessions, with two different, established choirs: the Sächsischer Staatsopernchor Dresden, as well as the MDR Leipzig Radio Choir. Katharina Wagner and Daniel Weber have adapted the original dialogues for this recording. Fidelio is the quintessential rescue opera, in which a wife goes to any lengths to free her beloved from the chains of a barbaric, oppressive regime. Beethoven’s opera on the power of love and the enlightening power of humanity still resonates with us today, and its music continues to delight and inspire.

Marek Janowski, the Dresdner Philharmonie and the MDR Leipzig Radio Choir have a vast PENTATONE discography, including complete recordings of Mascagni’s Cavalleria rusticana and Puccini’s Il Tabarro (both released in 2020). Lise Davidsen starred in Weber’s Freischütz (2019), while Christian Elsner, Georg Zeppenfeld and Günther Groissböck contributed to PENTATONE’s complete Wagner operas recording, amongst others. Christina Landshamer, Cornel Frey, Johannes Martin Kränzle and the Sächsischer Staatsopernchor Dresden make their PENTATONE debut.

Christian Elsner, tenor (Florestan)
Lise Davidsen, soprano (Fidelio / Leonore)
Georg Zeppenfeld, bass (Rocco)
Günther Groissböck, bass-baritone (Don Fernando)
Christina Landshamer, soprano (Marzelline)
Johannes Martin Kränzle, baritone (Don Pizzarro)
Dresdner Philharmonie
Marek Janowski, conductor

Christian Elsner
Born in Freiburg in southern Germany, Christian Elsner studied singing with Martin Gruendler, later on with Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau and Neil Semer and had prize-winning successes at various international competitions.

As concert singer, Christian Elsner is a regular guest performer at international festivals and in all the major concert halls around the world, from Berlin, Vienna, Milan and London to New York and Tokyo. He has worked with conductors such as Herbert Blomstedt, Semyon Bychkov, Manfred Honeck, Marek Janowski, Mariss Jansons, Kent Nagano, Lorin Maazel, Yannick Nézet-Séguin or Sir Simon Rattle.

With guest appearances as Siegmund at the Semperoper Dresden and as Parsifal at the Wiener Staatsoper and at the Teatro Real Madrid the german tenor proved once again his wide range of repertoire.

Accompanied by Gerold Huber and Burkhard Kehring, Christian Elsner has performed lieder recitals in Bonn, Dresden, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Munich, Vienna, Wuerzburg, Brussels and at the Schubertiade Feldkirch.

CD Recordings include Schubert ́s Winterreise, Schumann ́s Dichterliebe, Gounod’s Caecilienmesse, Mahleŕs Lied von der Erde, Mendelssohn’s Lobgesang, Beethoveńs Missa Solemnis and 9. Symphony plus Wagner operas such as Rheingold (Loge) and Parsifal (Parsifal).

Apart from being a professional singer, Christian Elsner is also an enthusiastic writer of children’s books (Lennie und der Ring des Nibelungen) and since 2006 professor for classical singing at the University of Music in Wuerzburg.

Upcoming engagements include Mahlers Lied von der Erde with the Berliner Philharmoniker under Bernard Haitink, Mozarts Requiem with the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra under Cristian Macelaru, Humperdincks Haensel und Gretel with the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin under Marek Janowski, the 1.Akt of Wagners Walküre in a concertant version with the RAI-Orchester Turin under James Conlon, Beethovens Missa Solemnis with the hr-Sinfonierochester under Andrés Orozco- Estrada, Schubert Lieder orchestrated by Max Reger and Anton Webern with the Orquesta Sinfónica de Madrid under Lothar Zagrosek, Beethovens 9. Sinfonie with the Gulbenkian Orchestra Lissabon under Alain Altinoglu and Mendelssohns Lobgesang with the Tonhallen-Orchester Zuerich under Lionel Bringuier.

Booklet for Beethoven: Fidelio, Op. 72