Fidelio an der Wien. Beethoven was to set a new libretto by Schikaneder, entitled "Vestas Feuer"; however, this libretto was not to Beethoven's liking. He spent about a month composing music for it, then abandoned it when the libretto for "Fidelio" came to his attention. The time Beethoven spent on "Vestas Feuer" was not entirely wasted, as two important numbers from "Fidelio", Pizarro's "'Ha! Welch’ ein Augenblick!" and the duet "O namenlose Freude" for Leonora and Florestan, both originated as music for "Vestas Feuer". Beethoven remained as a resident of the Theater an der Wien for some time after he had
The Diary of a Madman (opera) Searle had recently written incidental music for a radio production of Gogol's story, starring Paul Scofield, and decided to choose the story for his opera, providing completely new music. The libretto was written by the composer, based on the translation of Gogol's story by D. S. Mirsky. The opera is scored for an orchestra of single strings, woodwind and brass, with two percussionists. An electronic tape is also specified to produce particular sound effects. The voices of two dogs are directed to be sung by the same performer, using a loudspeaker. The opera was written in London and Amalfi between