A Modern-Day Florestan: Fidelio on Robben Island and South Africa's Early Democratic Project

A production of Beethoven's Fidelio on Robben Island, South Africa, served as a symbolic endorsement of democracy and opera as a cultural form during the country's early democratic period. The 2004 performance, sponsored by Cape Town Opera and Den Norske Opera, was analyzed for its role in legitimizing both the state and opera within South Africa's post-apartheid identity debates. By situating the production within contemporaneous discussions on representation, the study reveals how Fidelio functioned as a tool to reinforce democratic values and cultural legitimacy, bridging historical narratives of resistance with modern democratic ideals.

PISTORIUS, J. M. (2023). A Modern-Day Florestan: Fidelio on Robben Island and South Africa’s Early Democratic Project. Twentieth-Century Music, 20(1), 107–125. https://doi.org/10.1017/s1478572222000500