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 Handmaid's Tale (opera) Danish title was "Tjenerindens fortælling". The Danish Royal Opera who commissioned the work wanted the opera performed in Danish, but performances outside Denmark have all been sung in English. The Handmaid's Tale (opera) The Handmaid's Tale is an opera composed by the Danish composer Poul Ruders in 2000, to a libretto by Paul Bentley based on the novel of the same name written by Canadian author Margaret Atwood. Prologue In AD 2195, the 12th Symposium on the Republic of Gilead is meeting via videoconference. The Republic was formed after Christian fundamentalists assassinated the President and most of the Congress in