The Met added Giordano’s Andrea Chénier to its HD series today. The opera, the composer’s only hit, is a rousing four act distillation of the French Revolution. It has three demanding parts for tenor, soprano, and baritone. While the opera is considered a prime example of the verismo school of Italian opera, it requires singers with voices suited to the heavy and vocally most demanding Verdi operas.

This is particularly true of the title role. It was first performed by Giuseppe Borgatti, who became Italy’s leading Wagnerian tenor in the first decade of the 20th century. A big spinto tenor or even a dramatic tenor is needed to fully realize Giordano’s depiction of the decapitated French poet. The best Chéniers I ever heard were Mario del Monaco and Richard Tucker. Placido Domingo wasn’t too far behind. When I heard that Piotr Beczała was going to sing the lead in this revival, the first at the Met since 2014, I thought his voice was likely to be too light for the role and that at age 58 he had waited too long to do the role at the Met. I was wrong on both counts.

The Polish tenor gave a virile reading of the part which features four arias and two duets for the tenor. Musically, the second duet that ends the opera is just an extension of the first. Beczała’s voice sounded like a solid spinto and was under easy control throughout the performance. My only quibble is that he blasted through the final aria, ‘Come un bel dì di maggio’, with the same intensity that was appropriately given to his first aria, the ‘Improvviso’ in Act 1. The tenor sang many of the opera’s passages with restraint and sensitivity, so his forceful rendering of the Act 4 aria was surprising. But this aside, his was an outstanding performance even if his voice doesn’t have the bronze roundness of say Tucker or Corelli.

Bulgarian soprano Sonya Yoncheva has a very good lirico-spinto soprano. She has Bohème, Traviata, and Otello, among others, in her Met repertoire. While she gave an excellent reading of ‘La Mamma Morta’ in Act 3, a little more vocal heft would have added to her characterization. Also, there’s a hint of a wobble when her voice is under maximum stress. The ideal sound for Maddalena is the same as that needed for Leonora in Verdi’s Il Trovatore, though the two operas are otherwise very different.

The best performance of the afternoon came from Russian baritone Igor Golovatenko. He has a bright and very solid baritone that was perfect for the reluctant revolutionary Carlo Gerard. ‘Nemico della patria’ was sung with power and feeling. It was the vocal highlight of the very good performance by the entire Met players. Golovatenko will return in the spring to sing the title role in Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin. I hope the Met casts him in some of the big Verdi baritone roles.

The supporting singers were all fine. Particularly noteworthy was Brenton Ryan who played the spy Incredibile with silky menace. He made a real character out of a part that often goes unnoticed. Also noteworthy was Olesya Petrova as the blind grandmother who gives her only surviving descendant, her grandson, to fight for the revolution.

Conductor Daniele Rustioni was recently named principal guest conductor at the Met. The 42 year old Italian maestro showed why he was given this prestigious appointment by leading a taut and inciteful performance of Girodano’s crowd pleaser. The opera needs almost continuous forward momentum, interspersed by sensitive moments of calm and reflection. Rustioni kept the Met’s orchestra at its elevated peak.

Nicholas Joël’s production, which premiered in 1996, is functional. It’s pretty gray over the final three acts, but it doesn’t get in the way of the action. Given the right cast, Giordano’s historical adventure carries itself. Why a composer who could write something as thrilling and musically apt as Chenier could not find the means to compose another opera at this level is a mystery of art. Premiered during the same year as Puccini’s La Bohème, Chenier has only received 161 performances by the Met in contrast to the google-plex mountings of Puccini’s tearjerker.

Gary Halvorson produced the usual number of ultraclose-ups. He’s a dermatologist’s dream, but I wish he’d back off just a bit.

If you like no-holds-barred Italian opera in the verismo style, this show is for you. Catch the encore presentation if you missed today’s performance.

Andrea Chénier
Umberto Giordano | Luigi Illica


Andrea Chénier……….Piotr Beczała
Maddalena de Coigny……….Sonya Yoncheva
Carlo Gérard……….Igor Golovatenko
Bersi……….Siphokazi Molteno
Countess di Coigny……….Nancy Fabiola Herrera
Abbé……….Tony Stevenson
Fléville……….Alexander Birch Elliott
L’Incredibile……….Brenton Ryan
Roucher……….Guriy Gurev
Mathieu……….Maurizio Muraro
Madelon……….Olesya Petrova
Dumas……….Jeongcheol Cha
Fouquier Tinville……….Christopher Job
Schmidt……….Richard Bernstein
Major-domo……….Ben Strong

Conductor……….Daniele Rustioni
Video Director……….Gary Halvorson

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