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
Det sjungande trädet (opera) Det sjungande trädet (opera) Det sjungande trädet ("The Singing Tree") Op.110 is an opera in two acts by the Finnish composer Erik Bergman. The Swedish-language libretto, based on a Swedish fairy tale, was written by Bo Carpelan. The opera premiered on 3 September 1995 at the Helsinki Opera House. "Det sjungande trädet" was Bergman's only full-length opera and was composed between 1986 and 1988 as a commission from the Finnish National Opera. Prior to that, the closest he had come to the operatic genre was his 1971 "Samothrake" Op. 69, a 12-minute "musico-dramatic tableau" for speaker, mixed choir, and dancers.