# Andrea Chenier



## silentio (Nov 10, 2014)

I always think that this one is the best non-Puccini verismo opera. It does start slow, but when the true drama kicks in, I feel like the composer hardly put a wrong step.

What do you think about this work in general?

My favorite performances:






1) Definitely the best Maddalena and best Andrea Chenier (though not very subtle and poetic) around. Too bad the sound quality is poor. Here, turnipoverlord gets the performance in much better sound than the EMI recording I have.









2) I don't like Domingo too much, and Scotto is a bit painful to hear in the high notes, but she did give her very best. She is dramatically way better than Tebaldi, Caballe, or Stella, judging from the excerpts I have heard with these ladies.


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## Balthazar (Aug 30, 2014)

I like the work a lot. I find it more dramatically successful than other operas on the same theme (such as _Fidelio_ and _Guillaume Tell_), and the tenor and baritone arias are great. I quite like the Domingo recording.

A few years back the Paris Opera streamed a production with Marcelo Alvarez doing an outstanding job in the title role. I don't know if it has been released on disc, but it is well worth tracking down.


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## silentio (Nov 10, 2014)

The ending duet, before the couple heading to the guillotine , can be devastating if done correctly. The duet in the live performance with Callas always gives me the goosebumps as when Brunnhilde jumping to funeral pyre, or when Norma and Pollione preparing to leap into the flames. 

But, it can also turn out to be a histrionic, screaming mess in lesser performances!


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## WertherCharlotte (Mar 14, 2015)

Audio recording, I like Franco Corelli; hd video, the last Chenier at the ROH with Kaufmann.

The one you're referring to Balthazar with M Alvarez - Andrea Chénier ONP 2009 Daniel Oren - is indeed on yt, live from mezzo hd tv with french subtitles (staged by Mario del Monaco's son Giancarlo)


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## graziesignore (Mar 13, 2015)

While the production itself is meh (and Domingo, playing the role for the umpteenth time, is a bit listless), I appreciate the 1985 ROH version on video, which at least has a Carlo Gerard (Giorgio Zancanaro) who's credible as a revolutionary leader. Also, Bersi's aria gets one of the more spirited renditions I've ever heard (Cynthia Buchan).


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## Bellinilover (Jul 24, 2013)

I don't know the work very well, but I do know and love the aria "Nemico della patria." It is without a doubt one of my favorite baritone arias. Sherrill Milnes' rendition of it in the James Levine recording mentioned above is wonderful, IMO. I especially love his legato in the last section; it almost sounds as though he sings it all in a single breath!


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## Balthazar (Aug 30, 2014)

WertherCharlotte said:


> hd video, the last Chenier at the ROH with Kaufmann.


I would really like to see this one.


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

Balthazar said:


> I would really like to see this one.


There is until this day no release date, so nothing to be seen commercially , seems no settlement on which company releasing it yet is made.


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## graziesignore (Mar 13, 2015)

I'm probably alone in this, but I have trouble thinking of Andrea Chenier as "verismo" because in my mind, verismo is about ordinary people, and Maddalena and Chenier never strike me as ordinary people! (Or three-dimensional people, but that's another complaint...) I kind of wish there could be a rewrite of this opera, entitling it _Carlo Gerard_, because he's an inconveniently interesting antagonist - childish yet idealistic, he deserves a better final scene than just running offstage to get help that will never come.

Whenever I watch this opera, Gerard is the only character whose portrayal I am ever interested to see and compare to others, not to mention he has two great arias, and another bit in Act III that really should be considered an aria ("Perchè ti volti qui" where he confesses his infatuation with Maddalena). I'm not sure why this isn't considered a major role for baritones because the arias are all quite meaty dramatically and musically. Alas, the opera itself is disprized.


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## nina foresti (Mar 11, 2014)

What a beautiful opera. Corelli is hard to beat. Except for Kaufmann's ROH which is awesome as well.


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## schigolch (Jun 26, 2011)

A beautiful opera, indeed.

Some of the recordings above are fine. Just let me introduce a couple of historical recordings that are also quite interesting:

Marini-Bruna Rasa-Galeffi: 




Gigli-Caniglia-Bechi: 




My preferred fragment from this opera is Maddalena's "La mamma morta". There are quite a few unforgettable renditions of this aria, but let me link here one from the first 'Divina', the Italian soprano Claudia Muzio. None other than Rosa Ponselle once said about Muzio: _She had it all, to me she was the greatest of all Maddalenas.

_


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## Cavaradossi (Aug 2, 2012)

graziesignore said:


> I'm probably alone in this, but I have trouble thinking of Andrea Chenier as "verismo" because in my mind, verismo is about ordinary people, and Maddalena and Chenier never strike me as ordinary people! (Or three-dimensional people, but that's another complaint...) I kind of wish there could be a rewrite of this opera, entitling it _Carlo Gerard_, because he's an inconveniently interesting antagonist - childish yet idealistic, he deserves a better final scene than just running offstage to get help that will never come.
> 
> Whenever I watch this opera, Gerard is the only character whose portrayal I am ever interested to see and compare to others, not to mention he has two great arias, and another bit in Act III that really should be considered an aria ("Perchè ti volti qui" where he confesses his infatuation with Maddalena). I'm not sure why this isn't considered a major role for baritones because the arias are all quite meaty dramatically and musically. Alas, the opera itself is disprized.


You're not alone, GS, the same thing occurred to me. And I agree, Gerard is by far the most intriguing character. Chenier strikes me as a more dignified, purposeful, and likable version of Werther - another love-struck poet. I think both roles are tough to credibly portray on stage without over- or under- acting, not to mention bringing the required vocal goods to bear. I saw the ROH production in Cinema HD and thought Kaufmann delivered on both counts, unsurprisingly as good as he did with Werther.

I also saw the Met's version last year. It felt like Giordano's score and the Met Orchestra were the stars of that show. Marcelo Alvarez and Patricia Racette gave fine performances, but not the blazing kind needed to bring the story to life.

There's a version on youtube from Vienna circa 1981(?) with some impassioned arias from Domingo and the Gerard. The most detracting thing I can say is that the clamorous, show stopping ovations were well-deserved but became an annoyance once they passed the five minute mark.


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## graziesignore (Mar 13, 2015)

Not to mention, this opera starts off with a tremendous theatrical bang... there's a lot being sung in just five minutes (this doesn't even include Maddalena's entrance)






I like how this production has Gerard singing his snarky song to the other footmen, which is not something I've often seen... after all, one of Gerard's motivations for being a revolutionary (aside from his idealism), IMHO, is that he enjoys the attention.


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## silentio (Nov 10, 2014)

schigolch said:


> My preferred fragment from this opera is Maddalena's "La mamma morta". There are quite a few unforgettable renditions of this aria, but let me link here one from the first 'Divina', the Italian soprano Claudia Muzio. None other than Rosa Ponselle once said about Muzio: _She had it all, to me she was the greatest of all Maddalenas.
> 
> _


Thanks schigolch, one of the best performances of one of my most favorite sopranos. Muzio's miracles are best demonstrated within this clip: the hustle of emotions are conveyed superbly through phrasings and colorizing the voice instead of making a storm out of the aria (the volume of her voice is medium at best) .


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