“Fidelio” behind bars

Beethoven’s only opera in an authentic location: to mark the 250th anniversary of the composer’s birth, the Berliner Philharmoniker’s education programme in cooperation with the prison theatre aufBruch is staging the opera Fidelio at Tegel Prison, a work that deals with violence, dependence and the willingness to make sacrifices. Difficult material, which the director Peter Atanassow and the musical director Simon Rössler have to realize with a lightness of touch and a relaxed manner. In our video, you can find out what it means for the prison inmates to participate in this project, how it feels to play a woman’s role as a man, and what a rewarding experience it is to transcend oneself through artistic work.