Opera in four acts, sung in Italian.
Music by Umberto Giordano. Libretto by Luigi Illica.

Premiere on 20 July 2011 - 9.15 p.m., Seebühne

Duration: 2 hours without break

France in the year 1789. The aristocracy revels, the people groan. And between two stools stands the poet André Chénier. Cherished by the rich for his moving verses, in his heart he remains a revolutionary.

André Chénier, the most famous work by the Italian composer Umberto Giordano, is a brilliantly vivid historical drama and a human tragedy of shattering intensity. Set against the background of the French Revolution, the opera has strong appeal both as a passionate love story and as a historical thriller. André Chénier is based on the life of a real historical character, a French poet who got caught up in the turmoil of the French Revolution, frst as an ardent supporter and then as a victim, mercilessly persecuted and ultimately sent to the guillotine.

Giordano’s music is charged with a furious enthusiasm and stirring emotions. Historical dances and marches from the time before the French Revolution can be heard in the opera as well as classic Revolution­era songs including "Ça ira" and the Marseillaise.

The composer incorporated historical dances and marches from the time before the French Revolution in the operatic score, along with classic revolutionary songs like "Ça ira" and the Marseillaise. Together with rousing arias and thrilling duets they lend a unique flavour to the opera.

"It seems as though  André Chénier was composed especially for the Bregenz Seebühne. The opera presents a perfect mix of ingredients for the venue: a thrilling story and four strong characters, caught between the excesses of the Ancien Régime and the terror of the French Revolution. There is André Chénier, an idealistic poet, and his adversary Carlo Gérard, once a servant and now a revolutionary ringleader. And there is the young noblewoman Maddalena, who is feeing from the rebels, aided by her maidservant, who sacrifces herself as a prostitute in order to support her mistress fnancially. Giordano’s music is verismo of the very highest calibre and drives the high­voltage plot forward with breathtaking speed." Artistic director David Pountney

Further performances
July 22, 23, 24, 26, 27, 29, 30 and 31 – 9.15 P.M.
August 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 11, 12, 13, 14, 17, 18, 19, 20 and 21 – 9.00 P.M.

The Italian composer Umberto Giordano and his librettist Luigi Illica translated the name of the French revolutionary and eponymous hero of the opera, André Marie Chénier, into Italian. The French male first name "André" became the Italian male first name "Andrea" – which is why the opera is entitled Andrea Chénier in the original. The Bregenz production uses the historical figure's correct name for the title – André Chénier (the second name, Marie, is omitted). The revolutionary and poet was born in 1762 near Constantinople, today Istanbul, and was executed by guillotine in Paris in 1794.