Beethoven's only opera, Fidelio is a unique, enduring masterpiece of loyalty, unselfish love, and the human spirit — the story of the faithful Leonora who risks everything to free her husband, Florestan, from unjust imprisonment. Though the plot line and the form of the libretto are far from unique, Beethoven — after a decade of unceasing revision — was able to rise above the limitations of the material and infuse it with transcendent nobility. "Of all my children," the composer said, "this is ...