About this edition
Beethoven's only opera, Fidelio, Op. 72, occupies a singular place in the operatic canon — a fervent hymn to conjugal love, personal courage, and liberation from tyranny that the composer wrestled with for nearly a decade across three distinct versions (1805, 1806, and the definitive 1814 revision). From the searing dungeon scene and Florestan's anguished "Gott! welch Dunkel hier!" to the radiant choral finale that anticipates the Ninth Symphony, Fidelio fuses Singspiel tradition with symphonic grandeur and an ethical seriousness that few stage works have ever matched.
This volume reproduces the score as published in Ludwig van Beethovens Werke, Serie 20, No. 206, issued by Breitkopf & Härtel of Leipzig around 1864 (plate B.206). The Breitkopf Gesamtausgabe — the first complete critical edition of Beethoven's works, prepared during the 1860s and 1870s under the editorial guidance of scholars including Julius Rietz and Carl Reinecke — remains a foundational reference text. For more than a century it has been the basis upon which conductors, performers, and editors have studied Beethoven's orchestral and operatic writing, and its engraving clarity and editorial care still command respect today.
About this edition:
- Complete full orchestral score (conductor's score) with vocal lines
- Page size: 8.5 x 11 inches, suitable for study and rehearsal use
- Faithfully reproduced from the historic Breitkopf & Härtel Gesamtausgabe of 1864
- Published by Purple 4R Publishing, specialists in quality reprints of historic orchestral scores
- German libretto by Joseph Sonnleithner, Stephan von Breuning, and Georg Friedrich Treitschke, after Bouilly
This edition is a faithful reprint of a historical score that has long resided in the public domain, offered to make a cornerstone of the operatic repertoire readily available to conductors, singers, répétiteurs, students, and scholars. We hope it serves you well in study, rehearsal, and performance.
