Can't You Hear Me Knockin'- The Rolling Stones
*Happy 70th Birthday Mick*
The basic plot line of “Fidelio” is rather simple. Pizzaro is running his own private fiefdom with his private army and his private prison. Florestan, the fighting newspaper editor, blows the whistle – and then is “disappeared”, Argentine style. His wife Leonora tracks him down to Pizzaro’s prison. She disguises herself as a man, Fidelio, and infiltrates the household of Rocco, the jailer with a heart of gold who runs Pizzaro’s private gulag. She romances Rocco’s daughter, something that would have reduced Mozart to naughty giggles had he written this opera. Eventually she goes down to the deepest dungeon in the prison, finds Florestan, releases him, pulls a gun on Pizzaro and brings him to justice. All in a good day’s work, and here the hero is a heroine.
A good operatic villain gets a chance to lay his case before the audience to show why he is going to get his just desserts at the end. Pizzaro is a gangster, and he gets a letter stating that the government, which may just know about his racket, is sending an inspector. He makes his case for murdering Florestan before he gets caught. You just want to hiss this villain!
And Greetings & Salutations to you, Liberty. Thanks for the video tunes for the troops. ((HUGS))