Vestas Feuer

[Rutradelusasa]

Does anyone know of the libretto of this opera almost made by Beethoven (I checked it up on this site )?

[Geratlas]

Good Rutradelusa.
I can't help you much, I'm afraid. In any case I should tell you that one may find the text of the first scene of the opera, the one set to music by Beethoven, within the Complete Beethoven Edition (Deutsche Grammophon) Volume 3.
Whether any more of the libretto actually survive is beyond my knowledge. Hopefully other come to give satisfying answer(s).
Wish you luck. / F.G.

[Rod]

Originally posted by Geratlas:
Good Rutradelusa.
I can't help you much, I'm afraid. In any case I should tell you that one may find the text of the first scene of the opera, the one set to music by Beethoven, within the Complete Beethoven Edition (Deutsche Grammophon) Volume 3.
Whether any more of the libretto actually survive is beyond my knowledge. Hopefully other come to give satisfying answer(s).
Wish you luck. / F.G.

I saw it for sale during my web search, but nothing available free to view online.

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"If I were but of noble birth..." - Rod Corkin

[Rutradelusasa]

Thanks for your replies guys, I was trying to find the libretto, or at least where it is.

[Roehre]

Thanks for your replies guys, I was trying to find the libretto, or at least where it is.

The complete libretto (which is in German) has been published in Beethoven -Jahrbuch 1957/58 (Bonn 1959) pp.63-106. A (German) summary can be found in Willy Hess. Beethoven Studien. Beethovenhaus Bonn 1972, pp.143-151.

For a translation I'm afraid the booklet accompanying Vol.3 of the DGG Complete Beethoven Edition is still the only source.

I haven't found a website with the text (yet).

[Michael]

The opening scene of Act One survives in full score and is about ten minutes in length. It's a pity Beethoven abandoned it but when he got to know the subject of "Fidelio", he dropped everything. The ending of the remaining fragment of "Vesta's Fire" was used by him for the duet "O namenlose Freude" in "Fidelio".
Just to give you an idea of the lyric to the abandoned piece, here is a short excerpt from the opening:

Malo: (Running out in haste) Lord, look through these trees, see your daughter standing hand in hand with Sartagones there.
Porus: Is it true? Are these dreams? Did you definitely recognize them?
Malo: I recognized and saw them both, walking arm in arm.
Porus: Ah! Accursed be this hour, when my daughter forgets herself! Come, let her hear from my lips that now she is disowned.
(They make to go in, left)
Malo: Hush! Hush! They are approaching.
Porus: Yes, yes, they are approaching.
Both: We will lie and wait in silence , and then both shall feel that a father can punish.
(They go into the tomb. Sartagones and Volivia come out arm in arm).
Sartagones: Dear love, farewell! See, day is beginning to break.
Volivia: Ah, how full my heart is, full of foreboding, full of trepidation.
Sartagones: Alas, we are undone! Here comes Fidelio!

The last line is my own, but you get the idea. The music, as usual, is far better than the words.

[Leira]

Hi Roehre
If you know could you please tell us how many acts there are to the libretto? I think it interesting to get an idea of how much was still ahead of B had he continued his work with it. See you

[Roehre]

Hi Roehre
If you know could you please tell us how many acts there are to the libretto? I think it interesting to get an idea of how much was still ahead of B had he continued his work with it. See you

Hi Leira,

The Jahrbuch-libretto amounts to 35 pages.
Act 1 - 14 scenes: 19 pages
Act 2 - 15 scenes: 16 pages

Beethoven set Act 1 scene 1 which is in the libretto 2 1/2 pages.
So 16 1/2 pages Act one and the complete act two were still to be composed as Beethoven decided he didn't like the weak libretto by Schikaneder (which liberetto btw was Schikaneder's very last one before he disappeared to America).