Umberto Giordano Andrea Chénier opera to libretto by Luigi Illica. Directed 2017 by Mario Martone at La Scala. Stars Yusif Eyvazov (Andrea Chénier), Anna Netrebko (Maddalena Di Coigny), Luca Salsi (Carlo Gérard), Riccardo Fassi (Major-Domo), Annalisa Stroppa (Bersi), Mariana Pentcheva (Contessa Di Coigny), Costantino Finucci (Pietro Fléville), Manuel Pierattelli (The Abbé), Francesco Verna (Mathieu), Carlo Bosi (An Incroyable), Gabriele Sagona (Roucher), Judit Kutasi (Madelon), Gianluca Breda (Fouquier-Tinville), and Romanno Dal Zovo (Schmidt). Riccardo Chailly conducts the Orchestra and Chorus of the Teatro alla Scala (Chorus master Bruno Casoni). Sets by Margherita Palli; costumes by Ursula Patzak; lighting by Pasquale Mari. Directed for TV by Patrizia Carmine. Sung in Italian. Released 2021, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: NA
Andrea Chénier, popular with true fans of Italian verismo opera, is about a free-thinking member of the French aristocracy who lost his head to the guillotine just days before the end of the Reign of Terror. His poetry was little known during his life, but he was increasingly venerated when his posthumously published Romantic works became popular. Below is a famous image of Andrea seated in the middle of a crowd of prisoners as death announcements are are being called out. The painting was by Charles Louis Müller and now hangs in the Musée de la Révolution française:
We haven’t found any review of the new HDVD of this performance, but print critics who saw this live were uniformly supportive in praising the orchestra, chorus, and singers. Chailly limited the 4-act show to a single intermission, which made it harder for the infamous loggionisti to complain about the fact that the star tenor, Yusif Eyvazov, just happens to be the husband of Anna Netrebko. But it appears that Yusif sang well enough to overcome any doubt about his ability to handle the role. The only negative print comments were about static stage directions. Here’s a trailer:
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