Fidelio the opera which, thanks to the music of Beethoven, gives us comfort and courage... Certainly, "Fidelio" is not an opera in the sense we are used to, nor is Beethoven a musician for the theater, or a dramaturgist. He is quite a bit more, a whole musician, and beyond that, a saint and a visionary. That which disturbs us is not a material effect, nor the fact of the 'imprisonment'; any film could create the same effect. No, it is the music, it is Beethoven himself. It is this 'nostalgia of liberty' he feels, or better, makes us feel; this
Washington National Opera order of the day". Four months later, the Society staged a double bill of Gian Carlo Menotti's opera "The Old Maid and the Thief" along with his ballet "The Unicorn, The Gorgon, and the Manticore". It was very successful with both the public and critics alike. Successful presentations followed from November 1957 onwards: "Fidelio"; "Ariadne auf Naxos"; "Idomeneo"; a double bill of Schoenberg's "Erwartung" and Stravinsky's "Le Rossignol" (conducted by the composer); and a December 1961 "The Magic Flute" which resulted in an invitation from President John Kennedy at the White House for some excerpts from the opera. By this