April 1, 2022

Beethoven's Fidelio

On April 14-16, 2022, Gustavo will conduct the LA Phil and a star-studded cast in a new production of Ludwig van Beethoven’s only opera, Fidelio, at Walt Disney Concert Hall. The event is directed by Alberto Arvelo, co-directed by Joaquín Solano and produced in collaboration with Los Angeles’s Tony Award®-winning Deaf West Theatre, Deaf performers of El Sistema Venezuela’s Coro de Manos Blancas (White Hands Choir), and The Dudamel Foundation.

Created for both Deaf and hearing audiences, the semi-staged production draws on both American and Venezuelan Sign Language’s expressive, gestural poetry and Beethoven’s music, to tell a powerful tale of redemption and liberation. The idea for the production was originally developed by Gustavo through The Dudamel Foundation, which he co-chairs with his wife, María Valverde, as a means of elevating Deaf artistry to illuminate the opera’s central theme: the fight to overcome obstacles in order to discover one’s own personal freedom.

Performances of Fidelio take place on April 14-16. For more information, visit the LA Phil website.