Giordano’s Andrea Chenier

Live from the New York Met, Giordano’s passionate opera Andrea Chenier.

Giordano’s passionate tragedy stars tenor Piotr Beczała as the virtuous poet who falls victim to the intrigue and violence of the French Revolution. He joins soprano Sonya Yoncheva as Chénier’s aristocratic lover, Maddalena di Coigny, with baritone Igor Golovatenko as Carlo Gérard, the agent of the Reign of Terror who seals their fates

The score is lush and stirring, with emotions expressed powerfully and immediately by the orchestra and by the singers. In Act I, for example, the title character’s famous solo “Un dì, all’azzurro spazio” pulls the listener directly into the world of Chénier. The soprano must produce an amazing depth of expression in her great Act III aria, “La mamma morta,” and the baritone has the thrillingly impressive solo “Nemico della patria.” The tenor and soprano also express their love in two of the most charged duets in Italian opera, one in Act II and another as they face the guillotine together in the opera’s finale.

Presented from the Met by Debra Lew Harder and Ira Siff.

Giordano: Andrea Chenier

Maddalena - Sonya Yoncheva (soprano)
Andrea Chenier - Piotr Beczała (tenor)
Carlo Gérard - Igor Golovatenko (baritone)
Countess di Coigny - Nancy Fabiola Herrera (mezzo-soprano)
La Bersi - Siphokazi Molteno (mezzo-soprano)
Madelon - Olesya Petrova (mezzo-soprano)
Incredibile - Brenton Ryan (tenor)
Roucher - Guriy Gurev (baritone)
Mathieu - Maurizio Muraro (bass-baritone)
Fléville - Alexander Birch Elliott (baritone)
Abbé - Tony Stevenson (tenor)
Fouquier-Tinville - Christopher Job (baritone)
Dumas - Jeongcheol Cha (baritone)
Major-Domo - Ben Strong (bartione)
Schmidt - Richard Bernstein (bass)
Orchestra and Chorus of the Metropolitan Opera, New York
Daniele Rustioni (conductor)