Beethoven’s only opera becomes timely political thriller in SF

Amid the many new operas making their premieres these days, the most contemporary opera you’re likely to see this season is one that was written two centuries ago.

We’re talking about “Fidelio.”

With its themes of injustice, inequality, repression, and mass incarceration — and its depiction of Leonore, the heroic woman who risks everything to set things right — Beethoven’s only opera could be the plot of a modern thriller.

And with the San Francisco Opera’s new production starring the brilliant soprano Elza van den Heever, “Fidelio” can’t help but feel like the opera for right now.

Directed by Matthew Ozawa and conducted by S.F. Opera music director Eun Sun Kim, this “Fidelio” — the company’s first since the 2005-06 season — promises a rare revival, one that looks at the opera through a contemporary lens.

The production opens Oct. 14 at the War Memorial Opera House, where it will play through Oct. 30. And in a first for S.F. Opera, three performances — Oct. 14, 17 and 20 — will be live-streamed.

“Fidelio” has always been ahead of its time, says Van den Heever, singing the pivotal role of Leonore — who, disguised as a young man, descends into a hellish prison to rescue her husband, Florestan.

“It was revolutionary then, and it’s revolutionary now,” Van den Heever said in a recent break between rehearsals. “This is the perfect time to do it.”

Opera newbies are often surprised by Beethoven’s opera, says the soprano, who first came to San Francisco Opera in 2003 as a singer in the Merola young artist program. Since then, she has earned acclaim in range of works in opera houses around the world; with its sheer dramatic intensity, Leonore has become one of her signature roles.

“People want to think that opera is sort of like looking at old paintings, and their reflection of times past,” said Van den Heever. “But this is definitely an example of the ways that opera can be modern. ‘Fidelio’ is so modern, and the message is so here and now.”

Tenor Russell Thomas, singing the role of the imprisoned Florestan, agrees. As a Black artist who has closely followed the Black Lives Matter movement and “the world’s fascination with locking people up,” he says that “Fidelio” offers rare insight into issues at the forefront today.

“I think it’s amazing: the commentary that Beethoven had 200 years ago is still relevant today: how these systems of oppression are still in place,” he said. “And politicians turn a blind eye to it. Emotionally, that informs my performance.”

Florestan is a political prisoner, he said, “a guy that spoke out against the system. We don’t know a whole lot about him other than that he’s some kind of dissident who is locked up for no good reason. That’s why he’s hidden, separated from everybody else … . I see it as some Black guy, or some Middle Eastern man, being locked up somewhere by the American military. It’s like they want something from him, something maybe he can offer.

“Who knows? I’m not sure, but for me, I know this story all too well. Just think, Black men are still in prison for marijuana offenses, and now marijuana is being sold all over the country.”

Beethoven famously struggled with the opera about imprisonment during the French Revolution: it took him 10 years, and several revisions, to refine “Fidelio” from its earlier version, which was originally titled “Leonore.” But the results finally cohered, and the opera’s message – that love and personal sacrifice can overcome tyranny — became one for all time. In performance, the effect is both terrifying and transcendent.

Director Ozawa, who returns after staging S.F. Opera’s high-powered drive-in production of Rossini’s “The Barber of Seville” at the Marin Civic Center in April, is guiding “Fidelio” in its intensely emotional journey, highlighting the themes that have resonated with audiences through the centuries.

With scenic designs by Alexander V. Nichols, he’s updated the setting from an 18th-century prison to a modern government detention center.

Ozawa brings to the opera his own history — during World War II, members of his Japanese-American family, including his grandparents, were taken from their homes in Los Angeles, forced to give up their lands and businesses, and imprisoned in internment camps. His father was born in Wyoming’s Heart Mountain Relocation Center, now a National Historic Landmark. That legacy, he said, informs his staging.

As opening night approaches, the director says that “Fidelio” remains a beacon of hope for each new generation.

“My focus has really been to enable new audiences to see the opera’s humanity,” he said, “that the human collective will have the power to defeat tyranny and shine a light on injustice. To see that in an opera house is revolutionary.”

Perhaps the most astonishing aspect of “Fidelio,” he adds, is simply that Beethoven made the opera’s hero a woman. “Witnessing this woman’s courage and bravery is incredibly empowering,” Ozawa said.

Van den Heever, he adds, is the ideal choice for the role of Leonore. “She’s a shining light,” he said. “There’s a power and strength to Elza that creates a dynamic where you literally believe and root for this woman. And because of her strength as a performer and as a woman, she is unearthing elements to this story that I think are truly revolutionary.”

Contact Georgia Rowe at growe@pacbell.net

‘FIDELIO’

By Ludwig van Beethoven, presented by San Francisco Opera, Matthew Ozawa directing

When: Oct. 14-30

Where: War Memorial Opera House, 301 Van Ness Ave., San Francisco

Live-stream: S.F. Opera will stream performances 7:30 p.m. Oct. 14; 2 p.m. Oct. 17; and 7: 30 p.m. Oct. 20

Tickets: $26-$370 in-person, $25 livestream; www.sfopera.com.

Safety: Proof of vaccination required for those 12 and older; masks required; more details at https://sfopera.com/plan-your-visit/safetyfirst