This isn’t just any opera. The people at Ozarks Lyric Opera describe its production of “Fidelio” — Ludwig van Beethoven’s only opera — as a progressive, feminist, redemptive, 200-year-old prison break opera.
You can see OLO’s original production, starring internationally acclaimed tenor Ric Furman, at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 20 and 2:30 p.m. Oct. 22 at the Historic Gillioz Theatre.
“We are thrilled to be bringing this rarely performed masterpiece to Springfield,” Michael Spyres, artistic director of OLO, said in a press release. “This opera is more than 200 years old, but features gripping, relevant and timely themes that will be featured in a modern setting for our production.”
The despair of imprisonment, the power of love
The Ozarks Lyrics Opera adaptation of “Fidelio” is set in the United States Penal System of the 1980s. Leonore’s husband, Florestan, has been arrested and imprisoned by a political rival, and rumors of Florestan’s death are spreading.
Leonore, however, suspects her husband is still alive. She disguises herself as a prison guard named Fidelio to infiltrate the institution, where she finds Florestan in solitary confinement.
“Through the power of her faithful love, she frees him from impending death as he receives redemption and validation for the false crimes leveled against him,” the press release from Ozarks Lyric Opera reads. “Commuted of all crimes, and in the style of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, the opera ends with an affirming chorale of ‘Freedom & Fidelity.’”
“Fidelio” premiered in 1805 and, according to Spyres, has undergone many revisions but continues to be a part of the modern repertoire. OLO says the opera has seen a surge in interest thanks to a growing public interest in addressing mass incarceration in the United States.
“This opera, in a modern setting, highlights some of the struggles that many families and inmates experience daily in our nation’s prison system,” Spyres said. “Of course, there is a reason why many of the men and women are behind bars, but the generational impact is an ongoing issue that disproportionately affects people below the poverty line.
“However, this opera is not just about making a political statement — it’s deeply personal, and that’s what this music can help express. We have all experienced darkness and gone through troubled times, and we can relate to the feeling of the warmth and hope from the sun on our faces afterward, which is exactly what the prisoners experience in ‘Fidelio’ when they are briefly released outside and sing the famous ‘Prisoner’s Chorus.’
“This an incredibly impactful, but touching moment, much like the scene in the film ‘The Shawshank Redemption,‘ when the prisoners all pause to listen to the glorious voices floating through the air. It takes us beyond the prison bars and lifts upward to the beauty above and beyond that is all around us.”
International tenor, Springfield native director
Furman, a critically acclaimed heldentenor, plays the role of Florestan in “Fidelio.” He played that same role in Seattle Opera’s production of “Fidelio” in 2012. Furman was selected as one of nine finalists in the 2014 International Wagner Competition and won the top award from the New York City Wagner Society.
He has performed across Europe and played romantic tenor leads in the United States for top companies in Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Portland and Brooklyn, among others. Furman performed New York’s Carnegie Hall, and currently performs in Germany.
The Frankfurter Allgemeine newspaper praised Furman for his “luminous vocal power” and Seen and Heard International spoke of his “mellifluous tone.”
Jay Jackson, a Springfield native, directs the production, his third opera for OLO in less than two years. He also directed “Don Giovanni” in March. Jackson has directed opera productions around the country and won a Big Easy Award for Best Production/Direction for his reinterpretation of Giacomo Puccini's “Il Trittico” for New Orleans Opera. He says women are at the heart of “Fidelio.”
“Art is a conduit to peace; music is balm to the soul, but, ultimately, and at its essence, Beethoven’s only opera focuses on the power of women,” Jackson said in a press release. “It’s a celebration of what women can do when they focus their mind on something. Men just aren’t quite like that. This is Beethoven’s manifest on faithful, married love from the feminine viewpoint.”
Artwork from incarcerated individuals included in the show
OLO’s production of “Fidelio” also features work from incarcerated persons. The inmates' work will be inserted into the story though projections onstage and throughout the theatre. Those individuals donated their time, artwork and poetry about hope, hopelessness and redemption. According to OLO, the artwork will help show “an interior psychological mindset of what the characters on stage are singing about.”
“Through phone calls and in-person prison visits, we have been directly in contact with incarcerated men who have volunteered their time for the project,” Sean Spyres, OLO’s administrative director, said in a press release. “Many of these men committed crimes at a very young age and want to leave a different impact on the world.”
Want to go?
What: Ozarks Lyric Opera presents “Fidelio”
When: 7:30 p.m. Oct. 20; 2:30 p.m. Oct. 22
Where: Historic Gillioz Theatre, 325 Park Central East
Tickets: $27, $37 and $47, available on the Gillioz Theatre’s website or by calling the Gillioz Theatre box office (417) 863-9491.
For more information: Visit the Ozarks Lyric Opera website or follow them on Facebook.
