Rescue opera tradition that would influence German Romantic opera and French grand opera. The most famous rescue opera is Ludwig van Beethoven's "Fidelio". "Rescue opera" was not a contemporary term. Dyneley Hussey used the term in English in 1927 as a translation of Karl M. Klob's 1913 reference to "Fidelio" as "das sogenannte Rettungs- oder Befreiungsstück" in "Die Oper von Gluck bis Wagner". David Charlton believes that rescue opera is not an authentic genre, and that the concept was coined to make what he believes is a nonexistent connection between Beethoven's work and French opera. Patrick J. Smith, on the other hand,
Fidelio to be broadcast in the USA, over the NBC radio network, in December 1944, by the NBC Symphony Orchestra, featuring soloists from the Metropolitan Opera (though a shortwave broadcast of one act, conducted by Toscanini, had earlier been relayed from a 16 August 1936 performance at Salzburg.) Divided into two consecutive broadcasts, the 1944 performances were later issued by RCA Victor on LPs and CDs. "Fidelio" was the first opera performed in Berlin after the end of the World War II, with the Deutsche Oper staging it under the baton of Robert Heger at the only undamaged theatre, the Theater