Uploaded July 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
The Leonore Overture No. 3 by Ludwig van Beethoven features extreme dramatic intensification and contrasts and functions like a self-contained mini-opera. Here it is performed by the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, under the baton of Sakari Oramo. The concert took place on December 8, 2010, at the Stockholm Concert Hall on the occasion of the 2010 Nobel Prize awards ceremony.
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) wrote only one opera. He twice rewrote the original version of 1804/05, with the programmatic title Leonore, oder Der Triumph der ehelichen Liebe (Leonore, or the Triumph of Married Love) before he premiered it himself under the name Fidelio in 1814. There are four different overtures to the three versions of the opera, and Overture No. 3 even began its own “career”. To this day it’s a popular overture for concerts, usually being performed at the beginning of the program.
In itself, Leonore Overture No. 3 is an instrumental, abridged version of the opera Fidelio, the plot and moods of which it anticipates in concise form. Fidelio is a ‘rescue opera’, in which the heroine Leonore slips into the role of the titular jailer, in order to free her beloved husband Florestan from prison. The situation seems hopeless, however, as Florestan’s execution is imminent. At the last moment, a trumpet melody announces the redeeming and righteous minister, who will bring about Florestan’s liberation. This trumpet melody forms both the suspenseful climax of the opera Fidelio as well as the point at which the threads of the Leonore Overture converge (07:32) before the orchestra celebrates the triumph of freedom in a heroically serene round of melodies.
By the way, when it comes to cataloguing, there are two names in circulation for the Leonore Overture No. 3. If you see Leonore Overture No. 3, Op. 72a listed somewhere, it's usually an incorrect or inconsistent designation — it almost always refers to the same piece of music as Op. 72b. The Leonore Overture No. 3 performed in this video was labeled as 72a at the Nobel Prize awards ceremony, but it's actually 72b.
Watch more great concerts here: youtube.com/playlist?list=PL_SdnzPd3eBV5A14dyRWy1KSkwcG8LEey
More pieces by Beethoven: youtube.com/playlist?list=PL_SdnzPd3eBWcX1eOXH-w75x-_-7gRF-w
And more famous works from the classical period: youtube.com/playlist?list=PL_SdnzPd3eBX17Jic5IUJQle18jrnZAof
Subscribe to DW Classical Music: youtube.com/dwclassicalmusic
#Beethoven #overture #classicalconcert
The Leonore Overture No. 3 by Ludwig van Beethoven features extreme dramatic intensification and contrasts and functions like a self-contained mini-opera. Here it is performed by the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, under the baton of Sakari Oramo. The concert took place on December 8, 2010, at the Stockholm Concert Hall on the occasion of the 2010 Nobel Prize awards ceremony.
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) wrote only one opera. He twice rewrote the original version of 1804/05, with the programmatic title Leonore, oder Der Triumph der ehelichen Liebe (Leonore, or the Triumph of Married Love) before he premiered it himself under the name Fidelio in 1814. There are four different overtures to the three versions of the opera, and Overture No. 3 even began its own “career”. To this day it’s a popular overture for concerts, usually being performed at the beginning of the program.
In itself, Leonore Overture No. 3 is an instrumental, abridged version of the opera Fidelio, the plot and moods of which it anticipates in concise form. Fidelio is a ‘rescue opera’, in which the heroine Leonore slips into the role of the titular jailer, in order to free her beloved husband Florestan from prison. The situation seems hopeless, however, as Florestan’s execution is imminent. At the last moment, a trumpet melody announces the redeeming and righteous minister, who will bring about Florestan’s liberation. This trumpet melody forms both the suspenseful climax of the opera Fidelio as well as the point at which the threads of the Leonore Overture converge (07:32) before the orchestra celebrates the triumph of freedom in a heroically serene round of melodies.
By the way, when it comes to cataloguing, there are two names in circulation for the Leonore Overture No. 3. If you see Leonore Overture No. 3, Op. 72a listed somewhere, it's usually an incorrect or inconsistent designation — it almost always refers to the same piece of music as Op. 72b. The Leonore Overture No. 3 performed in this video was labeled as 72a at the Nobel Prize awards ceremony, but it's actually 72b.
Watch more great concerts here: youtube.com/playlist?list=PL_SdnzPd3eBV5A14dyRWy1KSkwcG8LEey
More pieces by Beethoven: youtube.com/playlist?list=PL_SdnzPd3eBWcX1eOXH-w75x-_-7gRF-w
And more famous works from the classical period: youtube.com/playlist?list=PL_SdnzPd3eBX17Jic5IUJQle18jrnZAof
Subscribe to DW Classical Music: youtube.com/dwclassicalmusic
#Beethoven #overture #classicalconcert
