Very verismo: Andrea Chénier

The Revolutionary Tribunal: you can almost smell them.

Our first turn of the century composer is Umberto Giordano, and our opera, his only one to survive in the repertoire, is Andrea Chénier. Plot synopsis and history here.

This is our first of a handful of turn of century verismo operas. What’s new is naturalism, telling realistically of often real lives, not those of gods, and telling them in music that is flowing drama, "through-composed," with few feature arias. These operas require good actors. Yes, there will be more verismo later this term.

The real poet Chenier: guillotined at 31, 3 days before Robespierre was executed.

Chénier was a real poet in the French Revolution (and really guillotined in the Terror), and the social worlds of the time are very real in this opera though the characters and plot are not based in history. The opera vividly portrays ruling class blindness as well as proletarian viciousness, not a gentle portrait of either. But the tragic lives of lead characters are threaded across those extremes in fast drama, Chenier's repudiation of the aristocratic life the central thread.

It’s known as a prize role for a tenor; Placido Domingo made it his, and is now followed by Kaufmann. The most famous aria is Chenier’s passionate denunciation of the nobility for their ignoring of the poor – usually called the ‘Improvviso’. For those with a taste for 'tenor tastings', there’s a marvelous comparison of great pre-Kaufmann tenors here. And here’s Kaufmann's version.

But three roles tell the drama, each strong and demanding. The baritone role of Gérard, servant turned revolutionary, is crucial to the drama (wonderfully acted and sung by Zeljko Lucic in our production). And Maddalena, the aristocrat whose world is destroyed by the revolution but whose love for Chenier is born in the destruction, is a strong, strongly developing character. “La mamma morta,” her searing narrative by about how she lost everything, is a concert piece for top sopranos.

[Soprano tasting: compare the performance by Angela Gheorghiu with that of Anna Netrebko. And here is the same aria with Eva-Maria Westbroek, Maddelena in our production, a brilliant actress and singer.]

Together too late: Kaufmann and Westbroek in the final act.

Our production is with the Royal Opera House – review here.