Seeing Fidelio on stage again after seven years was something of a shock; not just because of the time warp element, seeing that set again, those costumes and some of the same singers. No, what was most affecting was how magnificently it still works, a conclusion one could never presume to reach after such a long time. It is of course a terribly moving opera, but I have to think that a bit of nostalgia was blended in with the emotion. As soon as the early Act one quartet began I knew precisely why it was right for us to bring the show back to life. And when we see the prisoners for the first time and the audible once again emit their gasps (has there been a more chilling moment of stage business in London in the last decade?) the correctness of the decision was rammed home. I wouldn't have thought it possible to be more proud to be associated with the production than we were in 2003. Along with our terrific Don Giovanni, the next two weeks will be a lovely experience.
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