Opéra Bastille, Paris:

 

 

 Andrea Chénier

MUSIC BY UMBERTO GIORDANO (1867-1948)

LIBRETTO BY LUIGI ILLICA

Historical drama in four acts (1896). Sung in Italian 

The history is going on pendant the French revolution. It starts in the ball room in the castle by Comtesse de Coigny. After that in the yard of the revolutionary tribunal, and ending up the same night in the yard at the Saint-Lazare prison.
Marcelo Alvarez is wonderful in the titelrole. It is a pleasure to be in Paris and have the possibility to enjoy one of the great tenors in the world today, and not only for one or two nights, but for all the performances of Andrea Chénier this season at the Opera de Bastille.  

Another pleasure is it to enjoy Micaela Carosi as Maddalena di Coigny.

I liked the whole production staging by Giancarlo del Monaco, costumes by Maria Filippi, and scenography by Carlo Centolavigna, and light by Wolfgang Von Zoubek.

However it seems a bit confusing to me, that the first part is in one scenography style, more stylistic, and then changing to an other style. It seems like there has been two scenographers working with the same production. Or that the scenographer, Carlo Centolavigna, has changed his mind or ideas during the work. The last picture was amazing.

But as allways, it is a pleasure to enjoy Umberto Giordanos beautiful music. The choir leaded by Patrick Marie Aubert and orchestra has been doing a good preparation work, and it was all conducted with good musically feeling by Daniel Oren.

Unfortunately, I missed the real feeling of a love affair, and after the beautiful end, when it was finished. I was not feeling touched.

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The torrential, sweeping lyricism of Giordano’s music raises a blazing hymn to fraternity, love and liberation through death. Marcelo Alvarez returns to the Paris Opera in one of the repertoire’s finest tenor roles.

Daniel Oren	Conductor
Giancarlo Del Monaco	Stage Director
Carlo Centolavigna	Sets
Maria Filippi	Costumes
Wolfgang Von Zoubek	Lighting
Laurence Fanon	Choreographic movements
Patrick Marie Aubert	Chorus Master

performances from 03 December to 24 December 2009

 The torrential, sweeping lyricism of Giordano’s music raises a blazing hymn to fraternity, love and liberation through death. Marcelo Alvarez returns to the Paris Opera in one of the repertoire’s finest tenor roles.

Présentation:

If ever there was a Verismo revolution, then it was first and foremost a theatrical, even literary one

. And so it was from Italy that came this passionate portrait of the great French poet who died in 1794 in the name of liberty. A child of the South, Umberto Giordano drew attention to himself at the time of the competition von by Pietro Mascagni with his Cavalleria rusticana. A new operatic era had been born.

Exalted sentiments and passion expressed through words and song, cannot exist for long without forceful characters and situations. Andrea Chénier is a brilliant example of this: both a historical fresco of admirable accuracy and concision and an intensely overpowering human drama. Two lovers caught in the cogwheels of history and obliged to yield to the force of destiny… The words of a poet that rise above the tumult and are fixed in eternal youth by the guillotine. The torrential, sweeping lyricism of Giordano’s music raises a blazing hymn to fraternity, love and liberation through death.