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.

All labels observed (1)

Label Occurrences
O welche Lust, in freier Luft canonical 2

How this entity was disambiguated

Statements (47)

Predicate Object
instanceOf chorus
musical work excerpt
opera
opera chorus line
accompaniedBy orchestra
associatedWithCharacter Florestan (indirectly, as fellow prisoner)
linked to: Florestan
cataloguedIn Beethoven’s Fidelio score
composer Ludwig van Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven
countryOfOrigin Austria
expressesEmotion hope
joy
relief
firstPerformanceWork Fidelio
linked to: Fidelio, Op. 72
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
linked to: Herbert von Karajan

Otto Klemperer – EMI studio recording of Fidelio
linked to: Otto Klemperer

Wilhelm Furtwängler – 1953 Bayreuth performance of Fidelio
linked to: Bayreuth Festival
hasTempoIndication Allegro
historicalContext early 19th-century Vienna
influencedBy Enlightenment ideals of liberty
language German
German
lyricist Georg Friedrich Treitschke
Joseph Sonnleithner
notableFor depiction of prisoners’ joy at brief experience of freedom
openingLineOf Prisoners’ Chorus
operaTitle Fidelio, oder Die eheliche Liebe
linked to: Fidelio, Op. 72
originalScript Latin alphabet
partOf Fidelio
linked to: Fidelio, Op. 72

Fidelio
linked to: Fidelio, Op. 72

Prisoners’ Chorus
performanceForces male chorus
period Classical era
premiereDate 1805-11-20
premierePlace Theater an der Wien
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

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (2)

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

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