Opera in German The years following the French Revolution of 1789 had been some of the most turbulent in European history. In "Fidelio", Beethoven wanted to express the ideals of that Revolution: liberty, equality and fraternity. He was also inspired by contemporary French works, particularly the "rescue operas" of Luigi Cherubini. Beethoven was arguably not a natural composer of opera and, although "Fidelio" was premiered in 1805, it was not until 1814 that he produced its final version. Nevertheless, Fidelio is widely regarded as a masterpiece and is one of the key works in the German repertoire. In the early years of the
Aladdin (opera) Aladdin (opera) Aladdin, Op. 43, is an opera by the Swedish composer Kurt Atterberg, to a libretto written by and . Two versions exist, in Swedish and German. The opera is based on the story, "Aladdin's Magic Lamp" from "One Thousand and One Nights". It was first performed on 18 March 1941 at the Royal Swedish Opera, Stockholm. The idea for the composition was born in August 1936 when the composer met the librettists in Garmisch. The libretto was largely finished when Atterberg began composing the piano score on 15 July 1937. On 24 August 1940 the piano score was