Ludwig Van Beethoven Beethoven: Fidelio / Leonore Overture No. 2

This is a terrific performance of a supreme if problematic masterpiece. Basically a "rescue" opera, it tries to combine the light style of the Singspiel, complete with spoken dialogue, with the lofty moral tone of heroic drama; moreover, Beethoven, notorious for taxing instruments and players to the utmost, was even more oblivious to the limitations of the human voice: some passages in Fidelio are virtually unsingable. All these admittedly justifiable criticisms are swept away by the grandeur, power, melting lyricism, and sheer incomparable beauty of the music: encompassing every emotion from the height of ecstasy to the depth of despair, it stops the breath, chills the blood, and breaks the heart. This recording opens with the Fidelio Overture and adds Leonore No. 2 at the end; cast, chorus and orchestra are first rate, balance and pacing exemplary. Voigt and Heppner are spectacular, easily surmounting all technical difficulties, their voices soar with thrilling power and intoxicating radiance. This Leonore and Florestan are truly heroic; indeed Heppner sounds almost too healthy for the role. --Edith Eisler