Set in Paris immediately before and during the French Revolution, Andrea Chénier is Umberto Giordano’s passionate and most successful opera. Placido Domingo stars in the title role as the idealistic poet of the French Revolution, and Maddalena, the object of Chénier’s adoration, is portrayed by the Bulgarian soprano Anna Tomowa-Sintow. A servant-turned-revolutionary, Gérard, also loves Maddalena, and when he is elevated to the revolutionary court he wreaks his revenge against Chénier who is condemned to death. Maddalena joins Chénier in his cell and they go to the guillotine together. Gérard, torn between political and amorous loyalties, is the Italian baritone Giorgio Zancanaro. “Triumphantly successful” THE SUNDAY TIMES
Fedora
An overwhelming story of passion, violence and betrayal, this production of Fedora is a true cinematographic thriller. Director Mario Martone draws on paintings by Magritte for the staging and atmosphere, supported by the noir-inspired stage design by Margherita Palli. Marco Armiliato, giving his Scala debut, “perfectly captures the decadent nature of the opera, drawing on a rich and nuanced colour palette” (Teatro). Soprano superstar Sonya Yoncheva “tackles the title role with all the charisma of the prima donna, with a magnetic
Andrea Chénier
Jonas Kaufmann and Anja Harteros, the dream team of opera, continue their successful collaboration in a new production of Umberto Giordano’s Andrea Chénier at the Bayerische Staatsoper in Munich. Alongside the superb baritone George Petean, the superstars show how love triumphs over death in the shadow of a terrifying regime. In the opulent staging by film director Philipp Stölzl, Marco Armiliato conducts the Bayerisches Staatsorchester. “A sensational Anja Harteros brings the house down! Kaufmann is perfect for the role – full of vitality and radiance! World-class!” (BR Klassik)
Andrea Chenier
Set in Paris immediately before and during the French Revolution, Andrea Chénier is Giordano’s passionate and most successful opera. José Carreras stars in the title role as the idealistic poet of the French Revolution, and Maddalena, the object of Chénier’s adoration, is portrayed by Hungarian soprano Eva Marton. A servant-turned-revolutionary, Gérard, also loves Maddalena, and when he is elevated to the revolutionary court, he wreaks his revenge against Chénier who is condemned to death – Maddalena joins him in his cell and they go to the guillotine together. Gérard, torn between political and amorous loyalties, is the Italian baritone Piero Cappuccilli.
Siberia
Umberto Giordano’s opera Siberia with its libretto by Puccini’s successful librettist Luigi Illica (La bohème, Tosca) premiered in 1903 at La Scala as a replacement of Puccini’s Madama Butterfly, which was not finished at the time. Madama Butterfly came out in Milan shortly after Siberia and flopped completely. Umberto Giordano, however, briefly became a public favorite. Shortly after successful re-runs on important theatres, including Buenos Aires, New York and São Paulo, Siberia could not maintain its position in repertoire although Gabriel Fauré designated the second act as “one of the most remarkable and captivating that modern dramatic music can offer.“ This opera rarity performed at Bregenz Festival “is musical narrative theatre in perfection“ (Süddeutsche Zeitung) in which “Uryupin leads the agile Wiener Symphoniker through the score with a sense for delicately tinted colours. Ambur Braid sings the challenging part of Stephanas with bravour“ (Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung).
Plácido Domingo at the Arena di Verona
Opera legend Plácido Domingo returns to the spectacular Arena di Verona, where he more than 50 years ago made his debut. Plácido Domingo and Saioa Hernández perform a programme dedicated to the great Italian composers Giuseppe Verdi and Umberto Giordano. Jordi Bernàcer conducts the Orchestra of the Arena di Verona from the center of the Arena, which creates an incredible surround sound, embedded in a perfectly staged light show. It had been an extraordinary evening, where “the duets saw the artists perfectly in harmony” (OperaClick) and “Domingo performed with bravura, alternating with the spectacular Saioa Hernández” (operaactual.com).
Andrea Chénier
Andrea Chénier, which premiered at La Scala in 1896, was last performed here 32 years ago by Riccardo Chailly. “By choosing to work with director Mario Martone, known for his films as well as his work in opera and theatre, Chailly has given overall coherence to his cinematic vision. This production is beautifully crafted and full of grim period detail. Riccardo Chailly conducted with vitality and drive“ (Financial Times) and in the main roles Yusif Eyvazov “proved to be technically very skilled“ and Anna Netrebko´s “beautifully timbred and perfectly tuned voice“ (theoperacritic.com) made “the acoustic experience of the Milanese Chénier high-class“. (BR Klassik)
Bregenz Festival – Lake Stage Opera Box
“Stage director Graham Vick and set designer Paul Brown conjure up an “open-air spectacle of superlatives” (Die Zeit about Aida) “A gigantic set with iconic qulities – a masterly achievment“ (Die Welt about Andrea Chénier) “David Pountney finds stunning answers to the everlasting questions surrounding ‘The Magic Flute’.” (Der Tagesspiegel about Die Zauberflöte) „A bit of Hollywood in Bregenz: Melodies for the millions, impressively staged grand opera.“(ZDF heute journal about Turandot) „… Kasper Holten’s production of Carmen on Es Devlin’s extraordinary set was a knockout. …“ (The Telegraph)
Andrea Chénier
Umberto Giordano’s verismo masterpiece Andrea Chénier is set against the background of the horrors of the French Revolution and tells the tragic tale of a doomed love affair involving the historical figure of the poet André Chénier, who initially champions the Revolution but later turns against its leaders, before ending up on the scaffold. A vast sculpture rising up out of Lake Constance depicts one of the leaders of the Revolution, Marat, lying dead in his bath, creating a spectacular set of a kind possible only on the lakeside stage in Bregenz. “A gigantic set with iconic qualities – a masterly achievement.” (Die Welt) “The Mexican tenor Héctor Sandoval was brilliant in the title role.” (ORF) “The
singing was magnificent, the effects hit home. Bregenz has done it again.” (RP Online)
Bregenz Festival 2022: Siberia
It is a tremendous act of love when Stephana gives up her life as a mistress in an elegant St Petersburg palais to follow her true love Vassili to a Siberian prison camp. In this exile, Stephana turns into a fearless hero. For Umberto Giordano, who also composed Andrea Chénier and Fedora, Siberia is a universally applicable human drama despite its Russian local color: “Love and pain do not have a nationality”. Siberia premiered in 1903 in La Scala in Milan replacing Giacomo Puccini’s postponed Madama Butterfly. Two young artists from Moscow bring the stirring opus to the Festspielhaus: the internationally aspiring director Vasily Barkhatov and Valentin Uryupin, who already conducted Eugene Onegin in Bregenz. “Uryupin leads the agile Wiener Symphoniker through the score of Strauss’ contemporary Giordano with a feeling for delicately toned colours. Ambur Braid sings the demanding part of Stephana with bravura.” (FAZ)