O welche Lust, in freier Luft

E946005

"O welche Lust, in freier Luft" is the famous opening line of the Prisoners’ Chorus from Ludwig van Beethoven’s opera *Fidelio*, expressing the inmates’ joy at briefly experiencing freedom.

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Observed surface forms (2)

Surface form Occurrences
Fidelio 0
Prisoners’ Chorus 0

Statements (47)

Predicate Object
instanceOf chorus
musical work excerpt
opera
opera chorus line
accompaniedBy orchestra
associatedWithCharacter Florestan (indirectly, as fellow prisoner) NERFINISHED
cataloguedIn Beethoven’s Fidelio score
composer Ludwig van Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven
countryOfOrigin Austria
expressesEmotion hope
joy
relief
firstPerformanceWork Fidelio NERFINISHED
fromAct Act 1
fromScene Prison courtyard scene
genre opera chorus excerpt
hasForm strophic chorus section
hasKey B-flat major
hasMeter common time
hasNotableRecording Herbert von Karajan – Fidelio recording NERFINISHED
Otto Klemperer – EMI studio recording of Fidelio NERFINISHED
Wilhelm Furtwängler – 1953 Bayreuth performance of Fidelio NERFINISHED
hasTempoIndication Allegro
historicalContext early 19th-century Vienna
influencedBy Enlightenment ideals of liberty
language German
German
lyricist Georg Friedrich Treitschke NERFINISHED
Joseph Sonnleithner NERFINISHED
notableFor depiction of prisoners’ joy at brief experience of freedom
openingLineOf Prisoners’ Chorus NERFINISHED
operaTitle Fidelio, oder Die eheliche Liebe NERFINISHED
originalScript Latin alphabet
partOf Fidelio NERFINISHED
Fidelio NERFINISHED
Prisoners’ Chorus NERFINISHED
performanceForces male chorus
period Classical era
premiereDate 1805-11-20
premierePlace Theater an der Wien NERFINISHED
setting prison courtyard
sungBy prisoners
textBeginsWith O welche Lust, in freier Luft den Atem leicht zu heben
theme joy of freedom
temporary liberation
usedAs symbol of freedom in music history commentary

Referenced by (2)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Prisoners’ Chorus "O welche Lust" originalLanguageTitle O welche Lust, in freier Luft
Prisoners’ Chorus "O welche Lust" textIncipit O welche Lust, in freier Luft