Beethoven to singer: Get me out of the 2nd night of Fidelio

Beethoven to singer: Get me out of the 2nd night of Fidelio

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norman lebrecht

November 20, 2020

The Beethoven-Haus Bonn has received the gift of a letter from the composer.

In it, Beethoven asks the singer Friedrich Sebastian Mayer, who sang Pizarro in the world premiere of Fidelio, to get Ignaz von Seyfried to conduct the second night as he wanted to ‘watch and hear’ from the audience. He then launches into a rant about musicians who ignore his requirements. Sounds familiar.

The letter was brought to the Beethoven-Haus by a private collector who wanted to have it authenticated and restored, but wound up leaving it to the museum.

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