The WNO’s ‘Fidelio’ Both Hits and Misses

metroweekly.com:

Fidelio, Francesca Zambello’s production lands right on time.From the opera’s theme of political imprisonment to S. Katy Tucker’s haunting intro projections of prisons, actual political prisoners, and snippets of poignant Constitutional rights, its relevance is given in no uncertain terms.Indeed, reports that a particular presidential candidate has discussed using the military to control the “enemy within” only adds to its prescience.That said, Zambello’s potent vision isn’t quite enough to lift this production beyond more than a few inspired moments and the chance to hear conductor Robert Spano deliver the composer’s only opera (an experience Beethoven hated so much, he vowed never to attempt another one).Of course, not all of this is on the interpretation.

Despite the beauty and depth of the score, the narrative has some oddities, such as assuming rather a lot of knowledge before we join the action.Specifically, we are expected to go in knowing that citizen-activist Florestan has already been imprisoned for protesting an oppressive government and his wife Leonore, desperate to free him, has disguised herself as a young man (the titular Fidelio) and secured a job with the prison warden Rocco.Cutting even further to the chase, the warden’s daughter, Marzelline, already has a crush on the newcomer.

Although Zambello cleverly obviates at least some of this backstory via a mimed vignette during the overture, it can never quite compensate for the kind of drama that begs to be an Act 1.And, as operas go, this one won’t have anyone scrabbling for the program synopsis.