LEONORA:
In Conversation with Lawrence Edelson
Edlis Neeson General Director Lawrence Edelson has created productions for opera companies across the country, which have been called “ingenious” and “imaginative” by Opera News, and “stunningly touching and entertaining” by the Washington Post. He began his directing career assisting the pioneering director Rhoda Levine at Glimmerglass Opera and New York City Opera, and he has focused much of his creative work on contemporary and rarely produced works. His professional directing debut was at Wolf Trap Opera in 2006, where he directed the North American Premiere of Telemann’s Orpheus. This fall, Larry brings together an exceptional team of artists for another North American Premiere, Paër’s Leonora. We sat down with Larry to learn more about his interest in historically neglected works, and what’s in store for COT audiences this fall.
How does Leonora resonate with contemporary audiences, and why do you believe it's relevant today?
At the opera’s core is the profound love between Leonora and her imprisoned husband, Florestan, a love so powerful that it drives her to sacrifice her own safety in a daring attempt to free him. This tale of love is set against the backdrop of a corrupt system where justice is overshadowed by tyranny, with Florestan’s unjust imprisonment serving as a stark reminder of the oppression that can arise under such power. In Paër’s telling of the story, the focus is really on a corrupt individual - Pizzarro - and his abuse of power. While the story that inspired the opera took place during the French Revolution, it is very easy for contemporary audiences to see the parallels, with individuals abusing their power for self-protection and personal gain.
For me, however, one thing that is striking about Leonora - which is different from Beethoven’s take on the story - is that this really is an opera semi seria, juxtaposing serious subject matter with more comic scenes. What do we make of these comic scenes? I constantly find myself asking, how is it that people can ignore – or even be oblivious to – the political oppression that surrounds them? By juxtaposing comic scenes with much more serious ones, the opera shines a light on the complicity of those in society who choose not to see, and who choose not to do what is right.
Scene 1 scenic rendering of Leonora by Scenic Designer Cameron Anderson
As the director, what excites you most about working on this production?
Many productions of Fidelio are rather dark, both physically in their visual realization, and in spirit. I understand that impulse and I’ve seen many productions of Fidelio where this works well, but this is a different opera, and I believe it asks for a different approach - especially in the first act where the comic elements are significant.
Our first act takes place outside the prison walls, and is a space that has brightness and beauty. Cameron Anderson - our wonderful scenic designer with whom I’ve previously collaborated on a number of productions - encouraged me to watch the film Zone of Interest early in our planning - and it spoke exactly to what I feel is brought out in this opera. Zone of Interest (which if you haven’t seen, I highly encourage you to watch) takes place in a house and garden just outside the walls of Auschwitz. To be clear, we are not setting the opera in Nazi Germany - but what resonated with me here is that this garden was so beautiful and everyone in the household was living rather carefree, while just on the other side of the wall that backs up to their garden, the most unimaginable atrocities were taking place. I’m very interested in exploring this dynamic with the production - how proximity to tyranny can be so easily ignored.
I’m also very excited about the cast, and to work with Dame Jane Glover. Part of my job as General Director is casting, and this has a critical intersection with stage directing. I have heard people joke that they think directing is an artistic way of telling people what to do. In reality, that’s not it at all! For me, directing is drawing on the energy of everyone in the room to tell a story in a way that is compelling to all involved. So much of this is dependent on who is in the room. We have a remarkable group of singing actors working on this production, a conductor who has theater in her DNA, and a design team that is creating a world that allows for full immersion in the story. Not to mention, of course, our wonderful orchestra who will breathe life into the score and really bring our world alive. That collaboration is the real joy in bringing opera to life on stage. I cannot wait to share Leonora with our audiences!
Why did you decide to produce Leonora at COT?
I have always been fascinated by operas that were acclaimed in their time and then fall out of the public sphere. The reasons for this are incredibly varied, but it’s a huge mistake to assume that just because a work hasn’t been produced in decades or even centuries that it doesn’t have merit or won’t appeal to audiences today. There are so many exciting operas that are waiting for rediscovery, and I love that we can focus on these corners of the repertoire at COT.
When I joined COT, Paër’s Leonora was one of the first operas I considered producing. Leonora was the second of four operas that were written based on the same libretto - the most famous of which is, of course, Beethoven’s Fidelio. 2020 was the 250th Anniversary of Beethoven’s birth, and as part of the worldwide celebrations, there was renewed interest in Paër’s opera. Leonora premiered in 1804 - a year before the first version of Fidelio - and it was frequently performed across Europe in the early 19th century. In the 1820s, the version of Fidelio we know today began being produced more frequently, and Paër’s opera was neglected for well over a century.
While there had been some interest in Leonora in the 1970’s - and even a heavily cut recording with a starry cast - we have only recently been able to get a clear picture of the opera Paër wrote. The first critical edition of Leonora was prepared for performances in Austria in 2020, and a recording of those concert performances was issued shortly thereafter. When I heard this new recording, I was blown away. The musical invention - both orchestrally and vocally - is remarkable, and the relationship between Paër’s realization of the story to Beethoven’s is fascinating.
Knowing that Lyric Opera was planning on bringing Fidelio back to the stage this fall, it was clear to me that we had to produce Leonora. I am thrilled to be collaborating with Dame Jane Glover and a truly remarkable cast to bring Leonora to life. Audiences are in for a night of sensational, virtuoso singing and a new perspective on a timeless story that is as relevant today as it was when it first premiered.
Leonora costume rendering by Costume Designer & Director Brenda Winstead