For his only opera "Leonore / Fidelio", Beethoven wrote a total of four overtures. The so-called overture of Leonore No. 2 is chronologically the first in the series, and was designed in 1805 for the creation of the opera in Vienna. She obeys the concept of an assembly of the essential moments of the scenic work which follows, and renounces a formal completion by means of a resumption of the exhibition. In its place, we have the intervention of the double blowing of trumpets, which, in the opera, heralds the resolution of the conflict, and which, here, leads directly to the coda. This opening is published here today in a study edition on the basis of the musical text of the complete edition of Beethoven's works with a new preface.
|