Opera | New production

Unjustly imprisoned by a tyrant, Florestan is locked up in a prison, like so many others. His wife, Leonore, decides to go and free him: she disguises herself as a man (calling herself "Fidelio"), gains the confidence of the jailer's daughter, and then manages to gain access to her husband's cell. Beethoven found in this story a symbol of the progressive ideas of his time, initially driven by the French Revolution. Often described as the opera of the Enlightenment, Fidelio proclaims the need for freedom, in opposition to all forms of unjust oppression. For the first time, director Valentina Carrasco wished to include in the chorus of professional singers, a group of people placed under house arrest, monitored by the Gironde Penitentiary Integration and Probation Service. This program ran throughout the season, giving the convicts new prospects for integration.