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
The Composer Glinka Ivan Susanin. Tsar Nicholas I change the name of the opera to "A Life for the Tsar" and assigns a librettist - Baron Rosen. Acquaintance with the future co-author shocked Glinka: Rosen speaks Russian with a noticeable German accent. The premiere was successful, but Glinka was still not entirely happy with the libretto: "False words were written by Rosen". When Nicholas I learned that "Ruslan and Lyudmila" was written on Pushkin's subject, he sees it as sedition. The bitter experience of the composer brighten his supporters. 1953 Locarno International Film Festival The Composer Glinka Kompozitor Glinka (; English literal translation,