The Name
Fidelio is the name of the only opera that Ludwig van Beethoven composed, first performed in 1805. From the Latin word for “faithful,” Fidelio was also the password needed to gain access to a secret ceremony in the 1999 film Eyes Wide Shut, directed, produced, and co-written by Stanley Kubrick.

The Label
This is the second Fidelio label Realm has commissioned from artist Sylvia Ji, a graduate of the Academy of Arts in San Francisco whose paintings have been exhibited in solo and group shows internationally. The current label, from a work entitled “Leonore,” exudes red and orange tones that evoke the warm citrus and tropical fruit notes of the wine. Ji drew inspiration from Beethoven’s opera, in which Leonore, the main character, disguises herself as a prison guard named Fidelio to rescue her husband. This label is truly an evolution, as Ji overpainted her first one, leaving flourishes of the initial art including flowers and also butterflies, a symbol of transformation that resonates with Realm. This is a stunning work from Ji, a lifelong student of international culture whose art carries wide-ranging themes of femininity, beauty, life, love and death. We love collaborating with Ji. In addition to the artwork for Fidelio, she also created the label for Realm’s only wine from the 2020 vintage, our 2020 Rose.

“Leonore” is an acrylic on wood, completed in 2022. It hangs in Realm’s Whiskey Hotel.