"I believe in a mysterious power which guides our steps, for good or ill."
("Credo a una possanza arcana... ")

France is in the throes of revolution and the Reign of Terror has begun. The poet and revolutionary André Chénier is living dangerously because he refuses to leave the country in spite of all the warnings. He says it is his destiny to stay. He also believes that he is about to encounter a great love which he has not yet known. His imagination is fired by mysterious letters he has been receiving from an unknown lady.

"By the Devil! There's dust on Marat's head again!"
("Per l’ex inferno! Ecco ancor della polvere sulla testa di Marat"!)

The streets of Paris are aswarm with revolutionaries, spies and loose women. André Chénier is sitting at a pavement café with Mathieu, a revolutionary, who curses when he finds dust has gathered again on the bust of the revolutionary leader Jean-Paul Marat.

"You were powerful" ("Eravate possente")

Amid the revolutionary turmoil, André Chénier and Maddalena meet. She admits that she has thought of him often during the chaotic times and would have liked his help and protection. For Chénier, Maddalena is the great love he has been waiting for. He asks her to stay with him so that they can face the dangers side by side.

"Yes, I was a soldier" ("Si, fui soldato")

After an intrige Chénier finds himself hauled before the revolutionary tribunal. In his own defence, he says that he not only fought courageously for France as a soldier, but also used his pen as a ferocious weapon against hypocrisy. The tribunal can kill him but not take his honour, he declares.

"When I am near you" and "In our death" ("Vicino a te" and "La nostra morte")

Maddalena has herself smuggled into the jail where André Chénier is being held. Resolved to die alongside him, she takes the place of a woman who is among those condemned to death. They sing that dying at the guillotine together is a triumph of their love. A drum roll in the background announces the execution due for the approaching dawn.

With the permit of Sony Music the music examples were taken from: Umberto Giordano: Andrea Chénier National Philharmonic Orchestra, James Levine Placido Domingo, Renata Scotto, Sherill Milnes, Maria Ewing, Enzo Dara Michel Sénéchal, Allan Monk, (RCA Red Seal 88697576152)

Clips: All4Radio/Communication