What is Ludwig van Beethoven's only opera?
The Marriage of Figaro
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Beethoven struggled to produce an appropriate overture for Fidelio, and ultimately went through four versions. The libretto, with some spoken dialogue, tells how Leonore, disguised as a prison guard named "Fidelio", rescues her husband Florestan from death in a political prison. Bouilly's scenario fits Beethoven's aesthetic and political outlook: a story of personal sacrifice, heroism, and eventual triumph.