Organization

Singer

Tenor

Martin Muehle

Andrea Chenier

Baritone

Juan Jesús Rodríguez

Carlo Gerard

Soprano

Anja Harteros

Maddalena of Coigny

Mezzo-soprano

Annika Schlicht

The Countess of Coigny

Irene Roberts

Bersi

Bass

Padraic Rowan

Roucher

Burkhard Ulrich

The Incredible

Samuel Dale Johnson

Mathieu

Philipp Jekal

Pietro Fleville

Patrick Cook

The Abbe

Stephen Bronk

Schmidt

Sam Park

Master of the Household

Dumas

Tyler Zimmerman

Fouquier-Tinville

Stage director

John Dew

Conductor

John Fiore

Costume designer

José-Manuel Vázquez

Set designer

Peter Sykora

Chorus master

Jeremy Bines

Michael Bachtadze

Deutsche Oper Berlin

Orchestra

Orchester der Deutschen Oper Berlin

Others

Choir of the Deutsche Oper Berlin

Italian

Andrea Chénier -  (Andrea Chenier)

Berlin

Germany

Andrea Chénier Giordano

Public

German

English

Approved

Summer 1789. A party is being prepared in the castle of the Contessa di Coigny. Carlo Gérard, a servant in the Contessa's house, screams his hatred of the decadence of the French aristocracy. His old father has to work from dawn to dusk, he himself, who grew up with the daughter of the house, Maddalena di Coigny, and secretly but hopelessly loves her, leads an undignified existence as a footman. The political situation is tense. But when the ball company finally arrives, they try to distract themselves from the disturbing news from Paris by playing pastoral games. Among the guests is the young poet Andrea Chénier. Maddalena asks him to recite one of his poems. He sings about love and laments the injustice of the prevailing conditions so emphatically that that she leaves the room deeply affected. Suddenly the doors open and an agitated crowd, led by Gérard, shocks the ball guests. But the Contessa manages to reject the humans. The dance goes on.

Five years later nobody dances anymore. Paris trembles under the regime of Robespierre. Gérard has become a prosecutor at the Revolutionary Tribunal; Maddalena lives impoverished in Paris, supported only by her former maid Bersi, who makes ends meet as a courtesan. Chénier is persecuted for his poems against Robespierre's reign of terror. Although his friend Roucher urges him to leave Paris, he refuses because he has fallen in love with a stranger who secretly writes him letters. The unknown is Maddalena. When the two confess their love during a nightly meeting, they are surprised by Gérard, who has had his spies looking for Maddalena for some time. A fight ensues, in which Gérard is wounded. Gérard asks his rival to flee with Maddalena and ensure her safety. At a session of the Revolutionary Tribunal some time later, he nevertheless signed the indictment against Chénier, whom he considered lost anyway. To save her lover, Maddalena offers her body to Gérard. Touched by their love, Gérard vows to defend the poet before the tribunal, but in vain. Chénier is sentenced to death. The night before his execution, Maddalena, with Gérard's help, gains access to the prison and bribes one of the jailers to put her in prison instead of another convict. The two lovers await death together. Gérard vows to defend the poet before the tribunal, but in vain. Chénier is sentenced to death. The night before his execution, Maddalena, with Gérard's help, gains access to the prison and bribes one of the jailers to put her in prison instead of another convict. The two lovers await death together. Gérard vows to defend the poet before the tribunal, but in vain. Chénier is sentenced to death. The night before his execution, Maddalena, with Gérard's help, gains access to the prison and bribes one of the jailers to put her in prison instead of another convict. The two lovers await death together.

Although seldom performed, Umberto Giordano's ANDREA CHENIER is one of the most impressive works from the so-called »verismo«, a style of Italian opera that emphasizes naturalistic elements not only in the choice of subject, but also in the musical development. The spokesman for the new movement was Pietro Mascagni, whose one-act CAVALLERIA RUSTICANA emerged as the winner of an opera competition organized by the publisher Edoardo Sonzogno and made its creator famous in one fell swoop. Important features of »verismo« can also be found in Giordano's revolutionary opera, such as the musical processing of historical dances and marches from the time before the French Revolution and well-known revolutionary sounds such as »Ça ira«, the Carmagnole or the Marseillaise,

The main character, the poet Andrea Chénier, is based on a historical model, and the climate of the French Revolution, with its alternation of terror and pathos, is worked out in a very theatrical way. Against this background, the love triangle between the poet, Gérard and the young Maddalena becomes all the more touching.

»The director John Dew succeeds in portraying the inner topicality of the play in an amazing way without violent external actualization.« [Nürnberger Zeitung]

Performance credits (Cast & Crew )

Cast

Crew

Ensemble