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
Opera a Chinese language form of Western style opera that is distinct from traditional Chinese opera, has had operas dating back to "The White Haired Girl" in 1945. In Latin America, opera started as a result of European colonisation. The first opera ever written in the Americas was "La púrpura de la rosa", by Tomás de Torrejón y Velasco, although "Partenope", by the Mexican Manuel de Zumaya, was the first opera written from a composer born in Latin America (music now lost). The first Brazilian opera for a libretto in Portuguese was "A Noite de São João", by Elias Álvares Lobo.