Interview: Heartbeat Opera's Ethan Heard Brings FIDELIO To Current Times

Heartbeat Opera's tour of FIDELIO lands at The Broad Stage February 26th and 27th. Heartbeat's artistic director Ethan Heard directs Beethoven's 1814 masterpiece re-imagined and re-orchestrated for the era of Black Lives Matter. I had the chance to throw a few queries out to Ethan on his timely and unique project that he also adapted and co-wrote.

Thank you for taking the time for this interview, Ethan!

You created FIDELIO in 2018 with a nod to Black Lives Matter. What tweaks have you made to its current presentation?

Marcus Scott and I added new detail to the dialogue. We now mention over-crowding, loss of visitation rights, BLM organizers disappearing, and "fascists with tiki torches" to name a few examples. We wanted to make Marcy more politically aware and less naive. We added that Stan was pursuing his PhD before being arrested.
What initially inspired you to pick Beethoven's 1814 masterpiece as the foundation for Heartbeat's FIDELIO?

I was looking for a story that could speak directly to the here and now. FIDELIO was a perfect piece to transform into a contemporary American story.
What would your three-line pitch of FIDELIO be?

Stan, a Black Lives Matter activist is wrongfully incarcerated by a White Supremacist prison warden. Leah, Stan's wife, disguises herself as a correctional officer to infiltrate the facility where she believes her husband is being kept. It is a story of hope in the face of despair and love in the face of hate.
At what point of your intended 2020 tour (commemorating the 250th anniversary of Beethoven's birth), did the pandemic interrupt?

We had secured funding to revisit our prison choir collaborators. In March 2020, we were about to fly to the Midwest to re-record and re-film, but we had to cancel the trip. Sadly, to this day, the prison choirs are still not meeting in person with outside conductors and volunteers.
FIDELIO will feature voices of over one hundred incarcerated singers and seventy volunteers from prison choirs. How did you originally connect with prison choirs?

Our Music Director Daniel Schlosberg knew a prison choir conductor in Minnesota, Amanda Weber. We skyped with her, and she connected us with three more conductors in Ohio, Iowa, and Kansas. Over the course of weeks and months, through many emails and phones calls, we built a network, got permission from the prison wardens, and scheduled a trip to visit the choirs.
So the various prison choirs you're incorporating into FIDELIO rehearse on their own before you go in and record them? What's the process?

Yes, the choirs rehearsed on their own. Dan created a new SATB arrangement that gave each choir a chunk of the song to learn. Then Dan and I were able to visit four of the choirs in person in March 2018. We filmed and recorded and then edited the audio together.
Besides Derrell Acon and Kelly Griffin reprising their FIDELIO roles, have any other of the FIDELIO cast performed on past Heartbeat productions?

Curtis Bannister performed in our visual album Breathing Free.
What motivated you to co-found Heartbeat Opera in 2014?

Louisa Proske and I wanted to create visceral, essentialized productions, for intimate spaces, and 21st century audiences.
In Heartbeat's first seven seasons, you've presented twelve fully realized productions, including adaptations of CARMEN and MADAMA BUTTERFLY. What operas top your future adaptation list?

SWEENEY TODD, SALOME, MAGIC FLUTE...
What's in the near future for Heartbeat after your FIDELIO tour completes?

Our next project is QUANDO, a short film and live performance debuting at The McKittrick Hotel in New York City April 7-9. Visit heartbeatopera.org for more info.

Thank you again, Ethan! I look forward to experiencing Heartbeat's FIDELIO.

For tickets to the live performances of FIDELIO February 26th and 27th, log onto www.thebroadstage.org

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