Giordano, U: Andrea Chénier

The Countess de Coigny in sumptuous purple satin is sung to great effect by Rosalind Plowright, as is Elena Zilio’s Madelon…never less than compelling on screen, Jonas Kaufmann is a perfect foil... — BBC Music Magazine, Christmas 2016, 4 out of 5 stars More…

Release Date: 9th Sep 2016
Catalogue No: 9029593796
Label: Warner Classics

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Giordano, U: Andrea Chénier

Live at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden
Jonas Kaufmann (Andrea Chénier), Eva-Maria Westbroek (Maddalena de Coigny), Željko Lučić (Carlo Gérard), Denyce Graves (Bersi), Elena Zilio (Madelon), Rosalind Plowright (Contessa de Coigny), Roland Wood (Roucher), Peter Coleman-Wright (Pietro Fléville), Eddie Wade (Fouquier-Tinville), Adrian Clarke (Mathieu), Carlo Bosi (The Incredibile), Peter Hoare (Abbé), Jeremy White (Schmidt), John Cunningham (Major Domo), Yuriy Yurchuk (Dumas)
Royal Opera House Covent Garden
Antonio Pappano (conductor & David McVicar (director)

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“Kaufmann is performing the title role for the first time, and it’s hard to imagine him bettered. His striking looks make him very much the Romantic and romanticised outsider of Giordano’s vision. His voice, with its dark, liquid tone, soars through the music with refined ease and intensity: all those grand declarations of passion, whether political or erotic, hit home with terrific immediacy.” – The Guardian

Presented in its Covent Garden premiere in January 2015, this staging – directed by David McVicar and conducted by the Royal Opera’s Music Director, Sir Antonio Pappano – shows a bloody tricolour daubed with the words “Even Plato banned poets from his Republic” – written by Robespierre on the death warrant of the historical Chénier, a poet and journalist sent to the guillotine in 1794 for criticising France’s post-revolutionary government. Andrea Chénier was a great success at its premiere at La Scala, Milan, on 28 March 1896. It established Giordano as a leading member of Italy’s giovane scuola, and has remained Giordano’s most popular opera, with occasional productions at leading opera houses. This production is the first by The Royal Opera since 1984. Of Giordano’s later operas, only Fedora (1898) has attracted some continued interest.

Artists

Jonas Kaufmann (Andrea Chénier), Eva-Maria Westbroek (Maddalena de Coigny), Željko Lučić (Carlo Gérard), Denyce Graves (Bersi), Elena Zilio (Madelon), Rosalind Plowright (Contessa de Coigny), Roland Wood (Roucher), Peter Coleman-Wright (Pietro Fléville), Eddie Wade (Fouquier-Tinville), Adrian Clarke (Mathieu), Carlo Bosi (The Incredibile), Peter Hoare (Abbé), Jeremy White (Schmidt), John Cunningham (Major Domo), Yuriy Yurchuk (Dumas)

Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Antonio Pappano (conductor & David McVicar (director)

Reviews

Christmas 2016

The Countess de Coigny in sumptuous purple satin is sung to great effect by Rosalind Plowright, as is Elena Zilio’s Madelon…never less than compelling on screen, Jonas Kaufmann is a perfect foil to Eva-Maria Westbroek’s Maddalena who wrings every last drop of emotion out of ‘La mamma morta’…but the man of the hour is Antonio Pappano who conducts the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House as if all their lives depended on it

September 2016

Captivating from start to finish, Giordano’s flawed masterpiece Andrea Chenier is presented in a sterling production under director David McVicar...Kaufmann’s voice is in superb condition, expressive and compellingly projected in his arias...[Westbroek's] voice is a substantial instrument which she manages capably, as demonstrated by her Act Three showpiece aria La mamma morta.

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An introduction to Andrea Chénier

Giordano, U: Andrea Chénier

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