BEETHOVEN 200 YEARS AGO TODAY: Tuesday, August 17, 1824

The Munich correspondent for the Wiener Zeitschrift writes in today’s issue, Nr.99, at 864 about the successes of Wilhelmine Schröder (now Mad. Devrient) of Dresden, defending the honor of German opera in Beethoven’s Fidelio and as Emmeline in Der Schweizer Familie by Joseph Weigl this spring. [Schröder had starred in the title role of Fidelio in the Vienna revival of 1822, and Beethoven thought very highly of her performance.] The Munich correspondent was equally pleased: “If she succeeded…in the extremely difficult part of Fidelio, in repeatedly reaping the most rousing applause, especially in some places e.g. in the dungeon scene, she also had an enthralling effect on the full house through her brilliant acting. The good artist is certainly worthy of even greater praise for the fact that she, as Emmeline, in this already exhausted role, uncovered new sides of the most ingenious acting. The most experienced actresses know how to combine everything touching the power of sound.”