About this Performance

Beethoven’s only opera, Fidelio, is close to LA Phil Music & Artistic Director Gustavo Dudamel’s heart. Dudamel wrote, “The transcendent, transformative power of human expression is fundamental to my understanding of art, and Fidelio is the most vivid, compelling dramatization of that principle. Not only in its musical language but thematically and symbolically, the composer dramatizes aspects of his personal condition, connecting those struggles to universal themes.” The condition Beethoven was contending with at the time he wrote Fidelio was hearing loss. The composer was clinically Deaf for more than half his life. In April, the LA Phil will present a new semi-staged production of Fidelio that illuminates the connection between the personal and the universal power of human expression. Co-directed by Alberto Arvelo and Joaquín Solano and produced in collaboration with Los Angeles’ acclaimed Tony Award®-winning Deaf West Theatre, Fidelio will draw on both the expressive power of American Sign Language (ASL) and Beethoven’s music. Entirely performed by Deaf actors as well as sung by hearing performers, the production is intended for both Deaf and hearing audiences.

Concerts in the Thursday 2 subscription series are generously supported by the Otis Booth Foundation.

The LA Phil's Humanities Programs are generously supported by Linda and David Shaheen. 

Leonore: Christiane Libor

Florestan: Ian Koziara