BBC Proms - 2009 - Prom 50: Fidelio - Part 1

From the Royal Albert Hall, London. Presented by Christopher Cook. Daniel Barenboim conducts his West-Eastern Divan Orchestra in a German version of Beethoven's only opera, Fidelio, featuring an English narration devised by the co-founder of the orchestra - scholar and historian Edward Said. The work's themes are given a particular poignancy by the participation of Barenboim and Said's ground-breaking group, which was founded in 1999 to bring together young Israeli and Arab musicians, and continues to serve as a beacon of trust, understanding and dialogue between nations in conflict. Fidelio, first performed in 1805, is an impassioned defence of freedom and justice and a celebration of the power of love as its heroine, Leonore, rescues her falsely incarcerated husband from imprisonment and execution. Beethoven: Fidelio (Part 1) - concert performance; sung in German, with English narration by Edward Said Leonore/narrator ...... Waltraud Meier (mezzo-soprano) Florestan ...... Simon O'Neill (tenor) Don Pizarro ...... Gerd Grochowski (bass-baritone) Rocco ...... John Tomlinson (bass) Marzelline ...... Adriana Kucerova (soprano) Jacquino ...... Stephen Rugamer Don Fernando ...... Viktor Rud BBC Singers Geoffrey Mitchell Choir West-Eastern Divan Orchestra Daniel Barenboim (conductor).