In Beethoven's 1805 opera Fidelio, a man who has been wrongly imprisoned, and his wife must bring him justice. More than two centuries later, Heartbeat Opera breathes new life into the opera by confronting contemporary challenges with anti-Blackness and incarceration in the United States in their 2018 adaptation of the opera. In this reimagining, the main character is a Black Lives Matter activist who has been placed in solitary confinement. The opera follows his wife's attempts to rescue him. But Heartbeat Opera not only raises important questions about the criminal justice system, its creative team brings the reality of it to the stage. Immersed throughout the production are recordings of more than 100 incarcerated singers and 70 volunteers from six prison choirs: Oakdale Community Choir, KUJI Men’s Chorus, UBUNTU Men’s Chorus, HOPE Thru Harmony Women’s Choir, East Hill Singers, and Voices of Hope. In February 2022, Heartbeat Opera's Fidelio was remounted and recorded at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
In the latest episode of PEN America’s Works of Justice podcast, Sierra Santiago, PEN America Prison and Justice Writing intern, speaks with director/adaptor Ethan Heard and co-book writer Marcus Scott about the evolution of developing Fidelio for the stage, and the process of incorporating incarcerated musicians in the production.