For his only opera Leonore / Fidelio, Beethoven wrote a total of four overtures. The one called "The Opening of Leonore 3" is chronologically speaking the second in the series, and certainly the most played of all of Beethoven's overtures. Already during his lifetime, it was not only given to the theater, but also in concert, and thus constituted, alongside the overtures of Coriolan and Egmont, the new form of the overtures of concert. Recognized as a masterpiece around the middle of the 19th century, it became, according to the testimony of Beethoven biographer Anton Schindler, "work openly preferred by all orchestras". It now appears as a working Edition based on the score of the Complete Edition of Beethoven's works accompanied by a stand-alone Preface.
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