Jaquino is a prison guard. He wants to marry Marzelline, the daughter of Rocco who is the warden of the prison. But Marzelline has just fallen in love with someone she thinks is a man called Fidelio. Actually Fidelio is a woman who has dressed up as a man so that she can get into the prison where her husband Florestan is a prisoner (he has been arrested for political reasons). She is pretending to return Marzelline’s love so that she can find a way of rescuing Florestan. Rocco says he is happy for Marzelline to marry Fidelio. Fidelio (Leonore) says she will help Rocco with his job of looking after the prisoners. Rocco says she can do this, but there is one prisoner she is not allowed to guard. He has been locked up alone for two years. Leonore thinks it may be her husband, but she is not sure.
Don Pizarro, the military governor of the prison, hears that the prison is going to be looked at by inspectors who make sure that the prison is being properly managed. He knows that he should not have locked Florestan up, so decides to kill him before the inspection starts. He asks Rocco to dig the grave so that he can get rid of the body quickly. Rocco does not want to do this, but has to agree.
Leonore lets the prisoners have a walk in the garden. Rocco tells Leonore that he must help him dig the grave. Rocco is very cross that the prisoners are walking in the garden, but Rocco says they should be allowed because it is the King’s name-day. Rocco says they should be locked up again.
Florestan sits alone in his cell. In his mind he imagines an angel who looks like his wife who is telling him to come to Heaven.
Leonore goes with Rocco to the prisoner. She is still not sure whether it is her husband. She gives him some bread. When Pizarro comes he gets ready to kill Florestan, but Leonore stands between them and tells Pizarro she will shoot him if he comes nearer. A trumpet is heard playing a fanfare because the Minister is arriving.
Outside the prison the Minister says that all the prisoners are now free. He is horrified to find Florestan among the prisoners, because he is his friend. The crowd ask for Pizarro to be punished. Leonore frees her husband from his chains and the crowd say that she is a great heroine.
Beethoven made several changes to the opera at different times. This included writing four different overtures. They are called "Leonore 1", "Leonore 2", "Leonore 3" and "Fidelio". The overture "Fidelio" is the one that is normally heard now at the beginning of the opera. "Leonore 2" was the overture performed at the first performance in 1805. "Leonore 3", composed in 1806, is the most famous of the overtures. "Leonore 1" may have been written in 1805, or it may have been intended for a performance in 1807 in Prague which never took place". Sometimes the "Leonore 3" overture is played during Act II between the two scenes. However, many people think it does not work dramatically there. It is usually heard today as a separate concert piece. The overture "Fidelio" was composed for performances of the opera in 1814.
Für Elise
"Für Elise" (German for "For Elise") is the common name of the "Bagatelle in A minor", written by Ludwig van Beethoven in 1810. The song is thought to be written for Therese, a woman that Beethoven wanted to marry in 1810, however his handwriting was misspelt undergoing transcription, allowing the piece to be known as Fur Elise rather the Fur Therese. Therese did not want to marry him.
The piece of music, which was written for the piano, was not published until 1865, a long time after Beethoven’s death. It is one of the most well-known pieces of piano music in the world.
The piece is in rondo form. There is a main section (A) which appears three times. Between these three sections there are two other sections (B and C), so the form of the piece can be described as: A B A C A.
The main section has a time signature of 3/8. It is based on arpeggios which flow from one hand to the other. This is the section that many beginner pianists want to play. The two middle sections are harder to play at the correct speed. They have fast scales, arpeggios and left hand demisemiquavers (32nd notes).
https://www.classicfm.com/composers/beethoven/fur-elise-meaning-who-is-elise/
Teplice
Teplice (German name: Teplitz) is a city in Bohemia, the western area of the Czech Republic. Teplice (pronounced in Czech: “Tep-li-tse”) is a famous spa town where, in earlier times, lots of famous people went for holidays to improve their health. Goethe, Beethoven, Chopin, Franz Liszt and Richard Wagner all stayed there.
Teplice lies between Prague and Dresden in a mountain area called Krušné hory (Iron Mountains). In the year 762 hot springs were found there. The waters from these springs helped people who were ill to get better so it became a spa town.
Since 1990 many buildings have been restored. The Krušnohorské divadlo (Krušnohorské theatre) is now being refurbished. The North Bohemia Philharmonic Orchestra give concerts there in the open air. There is a museum and many restaurants, wine bars and cafés. In the winter the mountain slopes are good for skiing.
Symphony No. 9 &quot;Choral&quot; (Beethoven)
Symphony No. 9 in D minor op 125 (Choral Symphony) by Ludwig van Beethoven is one of the most famous pieces of music ever written.
A symphony is a piece of music for orchestra. Beethoven wrote nine symphonies. This one, the last one he wrote, is very unusual because the last movement also has singing in it: there are four soloists (soprano, alto, tenor and bass) and a choir. This is why it is known as the “choral” symphony (“choral” means: “for choir”). It is a very long work, lasting more than an hour. This, too, was unusual.
This symphony has four movements. The first movement is in sonata form. The second and third movements come the other way round from the usual order: the second movement is the scherzo and the third movement is the slow movement. It is a theme and variations. The last movement sets the words of a poem by Friedrich Schiller, a famous poet who had only recently died. The poem was called "Ode an die Freude" (in English: "Ode to Joy"). The poem has a strong message to all mankind: it is about living in peace and harmony together. It was written at the time of the French Revolution when these ideas were becoming very important in Europe.
The main tune of the last movement (sung to the words: “Freude, schöne Götterfunken, Tochter aus Elysium”) is one of the best known tunes in the world. Many children like to play it on instruments because the first part of the tune only uses five notes (it can be played on C, D, E, F, G). When the tune comes the first time in the symphony it is played by the cellos and double basses.
The "Ode to Joy" was adopted as Europe's “National anthem” in 1972, with an official arrangement for orchestra written by Herbert von Karajan.
Beethoven had been interested in Schiller’s famous poem since he was young. In 1817 he started to write the first two movements of the symphony. In 1822 he decided to use Schiller’s poem in the symphony. Most of the rest of the symphony was written in 1823 and he finished it in 1824. It was first performed in May of that year. Beethoven conducted the performance. The story is told that he wondered why the audience were not applauding when it had finished. They were applauding, but Beethoven was deaf so he could not hear. Someone made him turn round, and he saw that people were applauding enthusiastically.
Shatin Pui Ying College
Shatin Pui Ying College () is a Christian secondary school in Hong Kong. Its English name is simply said to be SPYC or PYC. It was started in 1978, and uses the money given by the Hong Kong government. There are 4 classes each for Forms 1 to 6 (as in 2019). The school icon is an eagle, which means courage and determination. Its location is at 9 Fung Shun Street, Wo Che Estate, Sha Tin District, Hong Kong.