Lyric Opera 2024-2025 Issue 2 - Fidelio

Russell Thomas, imprisoned as Florestan Seeing and hearing Ludwig van Beethoven’s only opera, Fidelio , onstage is a supremely moving experience. Listening to the “Prisoners’ Chorus,” you’ll wonder if any other composer has so vividly communicated human beings’ longing for freedom and sunlight. No operatic heroine is more courageous than Beethoven’s Leonore, who disguises herself as a young man in order to work in the prison, hoping to rescue her husband. Music Director Enrique Mazzola conducts this timeless political thriller in Matthew Ozawa’s production, and charismatic South African soprano Elza van den Heever is joined by two exciting American artists and Lyric favorites—tenor Russell Thomas and baritone Brian Mulligan. Corey Weaver / San Francisco Opera