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"
The Secret (opera) The Secret (opera) The Secret () is a comic opera in three acts by Bedřich Smetana. The libretto was written by Eliška Krásnohorská. The premiere took place on 18 September 1878 at the Nové České Divadlo (New Czech Theatre) in Prague. Krásnohorská proposed the idea for a new opera to Smetana two weeks after the opening of "The Kiss", but kept details of the plot a secret from the composer until July 1877, when a draft outline, drawing on several sources, including "Les femmes et le secret" by La Fontaine, was sent to him. The librettist had set the action