After Beethoven’s first version of Leonore premiered in Nov. 1805, some of his friends said it had to be shortened. He initially resisted but was reluctantly persuaded. (Beethoven's personality was not exactly conducive to the frequent compromise required of opera production.)
In revising Leonore for the 1806 version, Rocco’s first act Aria was eliminated, as was the spoken Melodrama in the third act. Several of the musical numbers were shortened, and some were shifted around. The first two acts were combined into one and a new overture was written.
Based on the numbering of the musical parts of Leonore 1805 (Day 188), Leonore 1806 has the following order:
Act 1: Nos. 1, 2, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 10, 3, 12
Act 2: Nos. 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18
The revised version of Leonore was performed on 29 March and 10 April 1806 at the Theater an der Wein, but due to a dispute between Beethoven and the theater — the exact details are in dispute — that was it. The opera wouldn’t be heard again for another eight years.
For a fascinating comparison of the 1805 and 1806 versions of Leonore in the context of changing concepts of marriage, see Robert D. Pearson’s article “Harmony of Hearts: Marital Love in Beethoven’s Leonore of 1806” in 19th-Century Music.
#Beethoven250 Day 191
Leonore 1806 (Opus 72), rev. 1806
This semi-staged performance (costumes, minimal sets and blocking) starts about 20 minutes into the video. All the spoken parts have been replaced by a single narrator.
Although Rocco’s Aria about the importance of money to a marriage was cut from the 1806 version of Leonore, it is included in this performance.
Among the sketches for the second version of Lenore Beethoven wrote “Even as you tumble into the whirlpool of society here, even so it is possible for you to write operas despite all social obstacles — Let your deafness no longer be a secret — even in art.”