Through the Fifties and Nineteen Sixties, Giordano’s Andrea Chénier was ceaselessly carried out on the Metropolitan Opera that includes among the period’s largest superstars. Nonetheless, the opera has been seen much less ceaselessly the previous few a long time because of the lack of genuinely dramatic voices wanted to do justice to the opera’s three demanding main roles. The Met’s present revival, its first in almost a dozen years, options a horny, HD-ready solid that solely sporadically rises to the event.
Based mostly on a real story, Giordano’s 1896 Chénier with a libretto by Luigi Illica (co-author with Giuseppe Giacosa of the textual content for La Bohème which premiered the identical yr) embraces among the beliefs of verismo opera in its lushly accompanied emotional arias and duets, although its lovers come from the next social class than these featured in well-known works by Puccini, Mascagni and Leoncavallo. The poet son of a diplomat, the true André Chénier (1762-1794) grew to become entangled within the French Revolution and was executed simply three days earlier than the Reign of Terror ended. Maddalena de Coigny, his fictional operatic lover, is the daughter of a Countess; she can be pursued by Carlo Gérard, one among her mom’s servants who ultimately rises to develop into a Revolutionary chief. The three type a fraught triangle whose vicissitudes are examined in vibrantly hovering music which will in the end lack the memorably melodic inspiration of different extra affecting verismo operas.
Although it calls for three larger-than-life singing actors, the opera is most frequently embraced as probably the most sought-after spinto tenor autos. All through the Met’s prime mid-century years below Rudolf Bing, Chénier grew to become a frequent golden-age showcase for Mario Del Monaco, Richard Tucker, franco corelli and Carlo Bergonzi within the title position with Zinka Milanov, Renata Tebaldi or Eileen Farrell as Maddalena, whereas Gérard was ceaselessly performed by Leonard Warren, Robert Merrill or Ettore Bastianini.
The Met’s present Chénier by Nicolas Joël with easy although evocative units and costumes by Hubert Monloup premiered in April 1996 because the final new manufacturing mounted for Luciano Pavarotti who performed the title position in his remaining full-length Met opera telecast. Inevitably he was adopted by Plácido Domingo (who in 2002 at age 61 was roundly criticized for transposing down a lot of the poet’s music), then by Ben Heppner.
This season’s revival little question occurred as a result of native favourite Piotr Beczala took on the title position for the primary time this summer season in a live performance efficiency on the Salzburg Pageant. Beczala, who had notable successes through the Met’s 2022-23 season starring in new productions of each Giordano’s Fedora and Wagner’s Lohengrin, has nonetheless had a rocky time at Lincoln Middle since then. Sickness saved the Polish tenor from singing the premiere of Carrie Cracknell’s controversial new Carmen, whereas throughout the next New 12 months’s Eve gala he foolhardily soldiered on by way of a disastrous Radames within the new Michael Mayer Aida.
The tenor who turns 59 on December 28 has recently been taking up roles like Radames and Turandot’s Calaf that many take into account too heavy for his large lyric voice. Chénier too asks for a spinto tenor and, on opening evening, Beczala, whereas dramatically clean, sounded wholesome however tossed off his show-stopping music in an uncomfortably loud and unsubtle manner. His arias, notably the “Improvviso” and “Come un bel dì di maggio,” name for a extra nuanced and poetic strategy than we heard in Beczala’s strained and pushed renditions.
As his nemesis Gérard, Igor Golovatenko, alternatively, confirmed he at the very least had the true vocal items. In his opening aria through which he dotes on his boss’s unavailable daughter, the Russian baritone sang with thrilling, theater-filling ardor and introduced a sympathetic depth to his ill-fated pursuit of Maddalena. Golovatenko’s ringing large aria “Nemico della patria” was suffused with compulsive, tortured intent and was deservedly rewarded with the premiere’s hardiest ovation. Gérard proved to be the baritone’s most profitable Met portrayal up to now, particularly after his ineffectual Prince Yeletsky in final season’s Queen of Spades.
Although dominated by the Chénier-Maddalena-Gérard triangle, Giordano’s opera can be unusually replete with vivid character roles which give their respective performers an opportunity to shine. Nancy Fabiola Herrera’s plush Countess di Coigny memorably made a lot of her haughty grandeur. Whereas Alexander Birch Elliott sounded nice regardless of Joël’s hopelessly dated effeminate depiction of Fléville. Although Siphokazi Molteno’s Bersi was visually glowing, her slim mezzo was ceaselessly coated by Daniele Rustioni’s bustling orchestra. Debuting, Guriy Gurev made a nice sufficient impression as Roucher, whereas Maurizio Muraro, normally solid in buffo roles, was genuinely scary as Mathieu although an enormous uncovered excessive observe defeated him. Brenton Ryan’s refreshingly younger Incredibile might have lacked a few of its wanted oiliness, whereas Olesya Petrova introduced her luxurious mezzo to an arresting cameo because the blind Madelon.
And what of Chénier’s main girl? Three years in the past, sonya yoncheva exuded a classy depth to Giordano’s Fedora; nonetheless, her following Met project in Bellini’s Norma discovered the soprano in manner over her head, and he or she fled after the fourth efficiency. A sympathetic Lisa in Queen of Spades earlier this yr introduced hope that she’d conquered some nagging vocal points, however, sadly, Maddalena uncovered as soon as once more her maddening tendency to tackle heavy roles past her capabilities.
Whereas she introduced a youthful ebullience to the primary act’s younger Maddalena, the next three acts require the sort of hearty spinto outpourings that uncovered Yoncheva’s wobbly, thinning excessive notes and protracted intonation difficulties. Although her stressed magnificence made its impact through the brutal third-act encounter with Gérard, her distressing rendition of the beloved “La mamma morta” aria diversified so wildly from phrase to phrase that one had no thought what would come subsequent.
The demanding exertions of “Vicino a te”—the duet with Chénier as they march towards the guillotine—discovered Yoncheva almost depleted although she blasted out an enormous remaining excessive observe—was it a B or a barely lowered B-flat? The soprano’s inadequacies all through the night aroused grave reservations about her upcoming Met debut as Puccini’s Cio-Cio-San in Madama Butterfly.
Although this season he has additionally led performances of Don Giovanni and La Bohème because the Met’s new principal visitor conductor, Rustioni made his boldest assertion but with Chénier, a specific favourite of his which he lately led to nice acclaim in Lyon and Paris (with a totally completely different, extra appropriate solid). Rustioni was fascinating to observe as he uncovered pleasant felicities in Giordano’s orchestral writing. However, as with Molteno, he generally let his vibrantly lush orchestra overwhelm the singers although Beczala and Golovatenko coped greatest. The conductor demonstrated his nice love for Chénier, although sadly he needed to make do together with his less-than-optimal tenor and soprano.
Maybe the pair will arrive with higher safety to the run’s sixth and remaining efficiency, which might be proven in HD in theaters worldwide on December 13.
