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==Composition and 19th century performance history==
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''Fidelio'' had a long and complicated history of composition. Beethoven revised ''Fidelio'' three times; the work caused Beethoven so much vexation that he vowed never to compose another opera.<ref>Beethoven was, apparently, just expressing his sense of vexation. For the history of his extensive efforts to find a suitable libretto and compose a second opera, see Dean (1971:381-386). These efforts never succeeded.</ref>

The distant origin of ''Fidelio'' dates from 1803, when the librettist and impresario [[Emanuel Schikaneder]] worked out a contract with Beethoven to write an opera. The contract included free lodging for Beethoven in the apartment complex that was part of Schikaneder's large suburban theater, the [[Theater an der Wien]]. Beethoven was to set a new libretto by Schikaneder, entitled ''[[Vestas Feuer]]''; however, this libretto was not to Beethoven's liking. He spent about a month composing music for it, then abandoned it when the possibility presented itself of joining the new, to Beethoven more meaningful, French heroic tradition.

The time Beethoven spent on ''Vestas Feuer'' was not entirely wasted, as two important numbers from ''Fidelio'', Pizarro's "'Ha! Welch' ein Augenblick!" and the duet "O namenlose Freude" for Leonore and Florestan, both originated as music for ''Vestas Feuer''. Beethoven continued to live at the Theater an der Wien for some time after he had abandoned ''Vestas Feuer'' for ''Fidelio'', and was eventually freed from his obligations to Schikaneder after the latter was fired from his post as theater director in 1804.<ref>For the Schikaneder episode see [[Vestas Feuer]] and Dean (1971:335-337).</ref>

[[File:Beethovenplatz 09.jpg|thumb|upright=1.5|The theatrical mask contemplated by a [[putto]] on the Beethoven monument by [[Kaspar von Zumbusch]] (Vienna, 1880) commemorates Beethoven's sole opera in the city where it made its debut.]]
''Fidelio'' itself, which Beethoven began in 1804 immediately after giving up on ''Vestas Feuer'', was first performed in 1805 and was extensively revised by the composer for subsequent performances in 1806 and 1814. Although Beethoven used the title ''{{Lang|de|Leonore, oder Der Triumph der ehelichen Liebe}}'' ("Leonore, or The Triumph of Married Love"), the 1805 performances were billed as ''Fidelio'' at the theatre's insistence, to avoid confusion with the operas by Gaveaux and Paer.

Beethoven published the 1806 libretto and, in 1810, a vocal score under the title ''Leonore''. The current convention is to use the name ''Leonore'' for both the 1805 (three-act) and 1806 (two-act) versions and ''Fidelio'' only for the final 1814 revision.

The first version, with a three-act German [[libretto]] adapted by [[Joseph Sonnleithner]] from the French of [[Jean-Nicolas Bouilly]], premiered at the Theater an der Wien on 20 November 1805, with additional performances the following two nights. The success of these performances was hindered by the fact that Vienna was under French military occupation, and most of the audience were French military officers who had little interest in German opera.

After this premiere, Beethoven's friends suggested he revise and shorten the opera into just two acts, and he did so with the help of his close friend, Stephan von Breuning. The composer also wrote a new overture (now known as "Leonore No.3"; see below). In this form, the opera was first performed on 29 March and 10 April 1806, with greater success. Further performances were prevented by a disagreement between Beethoven and the theatre management.

In 1814, Beethoven revised his opera yet again, with additional work on the libretto by [[Georg Friedrich Treitschke]]. This version was first performed at the [[Theater am Kärntnertor|Kärntnertortheater]] on 23 May 1814, again under the title ''Fidelio''. The 17-year-old [[Franz Schubert]] was in the audience, having sold his school books to obtain a ticket. The increasingly deaf Beethoven conducted the performance, "assisted" by [[Michael Umlauf]], who later performed the same task for Beethoven at the premiere of the [[Symphony No. 9 (Beethoven)|Ninth Symphony]]. The role of Pizarro was taken by [[Johann Michael Vogl]], who later became known for his collaborations with Schubert. This version of the opera was a great success, and ''Fidelio'' has been part of the operatic repertory ever since.

Although critics have noted the similarity in plot with [[Christoph Willibald Gluck|Gluck]]'s opera ''[[Orfeo ed Euridice]]'' (1762) — another underground rescue mission in which the protagonist must control, or conceal, his emotions in order to retrieve his spouse<ref>"The New Orfeo: an Appreciation", in ''The Nineteenth Century: a Monthly Review'', edited by James Knowles, Volume XXIX, 1891, [https://books.google.com/books?id=SbwCAAAAIAAJ&q=Fidelio p. 89 ff.]</ref> — it is not known whether Beethoven or any of the librettists had this in mind while constructing the opera.

No other work of Beethoven's caused him so much frustration and disappointment. He found the difficulties posed by writing and producing an opera so disagreeable, he vowed never to compose another. In a letter to Treitschke he said, "I assure you, dear Treitschke, that this opera will win me a martyr's crown. You have by your co-operation saved what is best from the shipwreck. For all this I shall be eternally grateful to you."{{sfn|Klemperer|Anderson|1986|p={{page needed|date=January 2019}}}}

The full score was not published until 1826, and all three versions are known as Beethoven's Opus 72.{{sfn|Johnson|1998|p=183}}

The first performance outside Vienna took place in Prague on 21 November 1814, with a revival in Vienna on 3 November 1822. In its two-act version, the opera was staged in London on 18 May 1832 at the [[Her Majesty's Theatre|King's Theatre]], and in New York on 9 September 1839 at the [[Park Theatre (Manhattan)|Park Theatre]].{{sfn|Cairns|2001|p=43}}