TUESDAY March 14, 7:30 p.m. (finishing at approx 10:10 p.m.)
ANDREA CHÉNIER
An opera in four acts
by Umberto Giordano
Libretto by Luigi Illica
loosely based on the life of the French poet, André Chénier (1762-1794)
First performed at La Scala, Milan on 28 March 1896
Cast
Production
A 2015 production from the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden
Directed by David McVicar
Set design by Robert Jones
Costume design by Jenny Tiramani
Lighting design by Adam Silverman
Movement by Andrew George
Orchestra and Chorus of the Royal Opera House
conducted by Antonio Pappano
Synopsis
The poet Andrea Chénier and the servant Carlo Gérard both love the young aristocrat Maddalena. When Maddalena loses everything in the French Revolution, Chénier offers her protection, and so incites the envy of Gérard, now a powerful official.
Chénier is arrested during the Terror. Gérard, spurred by his jealousy, condemns him. Maddalena makes a desperate appeal, and Gérard tries, too late, to defend Chénier. Gérard helps Maddalena to join Chénier in prison, and the lovers face the guillotine together.
Click here to watch the Royal Opera House's
six-minute video introduction
to this production, featuring the cast and creative team including Jonas Kaufmann, Eva-Maria Westbroek, Denyce Graves, Robert Jones and Antonio Pappano
Eva-Maria Westbroek as Maddalena di Coigny and Jonas Kaufmann as Andrea Chénier
- Donald Cooper/Photostage
Thrilling moments for the whole cast
The premiere of Andrea Chénier at La Scala, Milan, on 28 March 1896 propelled the young Umberto Giordano to the front rank of the giovane scuola (an up-and-coming group of young Italian composers that included Puccini and Mascagni). The opera exemplifies the verismo style that dominated Italian opera of the period – nowhere more so than in Giordano's skilful interpolation of different musical styles to provide local colour, from the aristocratic Gavotte of Act I to the Marseillaise in Act IV. The libretto by Luigi Illica (Puccini’s collaborator for Manon Lescaut, La bohème, Tosca and Madama Butterfly) was inspired by the real-life Romantic poet André Chénier, who was guillotined just three days before Robespierre's execution.
Andrea Chénier has become celebrated for the lyrical music it offers the tenor who takes the leading role, with the off-the-cuff Improvviso of Act I and his final aria 'Come un bel dì di maggio' particular highlights. But there are thrilling moments for the whole cast, including Maddalena's ardent aria 'La mamma morta', Gérard’s 'Nemico della patria!’ and a host of dramatic duets and characterful ensembles. David McVicar (whose productions for The Royal Opera include Le nozze di Figaro, Faust and Die Zauberflöte) directs The Royal Opera's 2015 production, moving from the opulence of pre-Revolutionary France to the horrors of the Reign of Terror.
- www.roh.org.uk/
NEXT MEETING: Tuesday, April 11, 7.30 pm
Cavalleria Rusticana + Pagliacci
Full-blooded Italian passion, as Jonas Kaufmann stars again in the classic verismo double-act. A Salzburg Festival production.