Umberto Giordano was
the son of a pharmacist who became a
musician against the wishes of his parents.
After study at the Naples Conservatory
he submitted his one act opera Marina
in the competition won by Mascagni
with Cavalleria Rusticana. His
efforts were not in vain however, and
the sponsoring publishers commissioned
him to write a full-length opera. The
result was Mala vita (1892) a
full-blown verismo work of the kind
then in fashion. After the failure of
his next opera, Giordano lost his publisher’s
sponsorship and his future as a composer
looked bleak. He had however maintained
the friendship of Mascagni who helped
him get Andrea Chénier staged.
It proved an overwhelming success at
it premiere and was followed by his
other notable opera, Fedora (review)
in 1898 and which is also in the verismo
style.
It was a prescient
observer who noted that if despotism
is overturned by a revolution the result
is always a greater despotism, at least
in the medium term. The past century
has several examples that come easily
to mind. The circumstances and betrayals
of the French Revolution and the terror
are the setting of Andrea Chénier.
The story starts in the Chateau of La
Contessa di Coigny as tensions between
the aristocracy and the Third Estate
build. Gérard, a valet of the
Countess and who secretly loves the
aristocratic daughter of the house,
Maddalena, leaves his post to join the
Revolutionaries. The poet Andrea Chénier
declines to offer his services to the
nobility and is admired by Maddalena.
Act 2 takes place in Paris in 1794.
Gérard has made a name for himself
during the Revolution as has Chénier
who originally joined the revolutionary
side but has fallen out of favour. Maddalena,
pursued as an aristocrat seeks refuge
with Chénier and the two swear
eternal love. They are betrayed and
Chénier is arrested and accused
of supporting the aristocracy. Despite
having discovered the love between Chénier
and Maddalena, Gerard is prepared to
let Chénier escape the danger
of the terror in exchange for Maddalena’s
love. She is prepared to comply, at
which point Gerard, moved by her self-sacrifice
tries, in vain, to obtain Chénier’s
release but he is condemned to death.
In the prison of St. Lazare the final
act that Gerard can render his friends
is to bribe the jailer to let Maddalena
take the place of a mother condemned
to death, so that the lovers can die
together.
The sets and costumes
of the production are traditional and
are clearly identifiable as late eighteenth
century. Rolf Glittenberg’s set for
the opening act in the chateau (CHs
2-9) is utterly realistic whilst the
costumes are opulent. In the second
act, set on the streets of Paris during
the ‘terror’ (CHs 10-19), the costumes
could be considered too opulent, with
the erstwhile proletariat being undistinguishable
from the former aristocrats in the elegance
of their couture. The producer, Otto
Schenk, focuses on the plight, interaction
and relationships of individuals rather
than portraying the chaos of the Revolution;
the drama of the work benefits from
that approach. The camera work also
focuses on individuals, often in close
up, matching the producer’s approach.
However, this makes some rather dark
and gloomy lighting very obvious, with
the faces of singers often in shadow,
particularly in the last act prison
scene (CHs 30-34).
Andrea Chénier
is a singer’s opera, and this performance
is outstanding in respect of the principals
and the several minor parts sung by
members of the company. In the name
part, Placido Domingo is in pristine
voice, singing with virile tone, exemplary
diction and acting with conviction.
His act 1 aria Un di bel all’azzuro
(CH 8) brings the house down. Herein
lies a major problem for the viewer.
The Viennese audience cheer and bray
until the singer is forced, very reluctantly,
to break role and acknowledge the applause.
The same thing happens to Gabriella
Benacková after her finely phrased
La mamma morte (CH 26) and Piero
Cappuccilli after his strong, long-phrased,
singing of Nemico della patria
when Gérard realises the Revolution
has lost its way (CH 24). If Gabriella
Benackova does not quite match her male
colleagues in her acting, her phrasing,
legato and lovely lyric singing more
than compensate. In the cameo role of
Madelon, Fedora Barbieri, in one of
her few, and rather late roles in Vienna,
sings strongly. For whatever reason
some of the audience boo her at the
final curtain. I doubt if it was her
fault that she was never heard in Vienna
in one of the great Verdi mezzo roles
in which she dominated in the 1960s
and later. Likewise the booing of the
production and design team merely underlines
the lack of taste and decorum of many
of the audience. Maybe they would have
preferred a production full of concepts
and updated to 20th century
Russia, or Kenya, or one of a dozen
or more other places one could name
where despotism was replaced by mass
slaughter. As it is, the production
and sets befit the music. The strong
singing by all the participants and
the idiomatic conducting of Nello Santi
make this is a wholly recommendable
performance for home viewing.
Robert J Farr
Orchestra and Chorus of the Vienna State Opera/Nello
Santi 
DEUTSCHE
GRAMMOPHON DVD VIDEO 000440 073 4070 GH [139:00]
