Fidelio of overwhelming the (rather light) initial scenes of the opera. Beethoven accordingly experimented with cutting it back somewhat, for a planned 1808 performance in Prague; this is believed to be the version now called "Leonore No. 1". Finally, for the 1814 revival Beethoven began anew, and with fresh musical material wrote what we now know as the "Fidelio" overture. As this somewhat lighter overture seems to work best of the four as a start to the opera, Beethoven's final intentions are generally respected in contemporary productions. While some believe that Gustav Mahler introduced the practice of performing "Leonore No. 3"
Guntram (opera) Guntram (opera) Guntram (Op. 25) is an opera in three acts by Richard Strauss with a German libretto written by the composer. The second act of the opera was composed in Ramacca, Sicily. It was Strauss' first opera and shows a strong Wagnerian influence. The music of Guntram is quoted in Strauss's tone-poem "Ein Heldenleben". The composer revised the score in 1940. The opera was not very successful, and was only staged a few times during Strauss' lifetime: The first performance took place on 10 May 1894 at the Grossherzogliches Hoftheater in Weimar. The soprano role of Freihild was sung