Abstract
The protagonist of this enthralling revolutionary drama is the historical figure of the young poet Andrea Chénier, who died under the guillotine only three days before Robespierre’s execution in 1794. Initially an ardent champion of revolutionary ideals, in the course of the story Chénier arouses the suspicions of the new rulers due to his love for the persecuted aristocrat Maddalena di Coigny. This mixture of human tragedy and politico-historical novel with fatal consequences was to become Umberto Giordano’s greatest success. The Italian Realist composer expertly captures the atmosphere of the French Revolution by meticulously writing a babble of voices, or quoting hymns such as the Marseillaise and the Carmagnole. As at the première, Maestro Nello Santi will conjure up revolutionary sounds from the orchestra pit; at his side he will have an excellent triad of singers in Martina Serafin as the aristocratic Maddalena, Yonghoon Lee as Andrea Chénier and Lucio Gallo as the proletarian Carlo Gérard.