Bregenz Festival: Andrea Chénier

Luigi Illica's libretto, based on the life of the real-life French poet André Chénier, executed during the Jacobin Terror, sets the story against the backdrop of the French Revolution.

Act I
While signs of the revolution are already making themselves felt on the streets, an artists' festival is being celebrated in a hall of the Château de Coigny. Among the servants, the future revolutionary leader Gérard reveals his hatred for the nobility. He is embittered that his old father, despite his frailty, is still being forced to work. The poet Chénier, who is among the guests, initially hesitates to express himself poetically, but then, provoked by the young hostess Maddalena, recites verses in which he speaks out against the excesses of the rich and reveals the new spirit of the times (Aria Un dì all’azzurro spazio / Once I looked up to the sky). While Maddalena is moved and agrees with him, the guests in the house fall silent. Gérard, equally enthusiastic in his agreement, leads a troop of ragged beggars into the hall after Chénier's departure to show the nobility the flip side of wealth. Thereupon, he is immediately dismissed. The excitement subsides and the festival continues.

Act II
Four years later, Chénier, disappointed by the course of the revolution, waits in a café on the Seine for an unknown woman who has asked him for a rendezvous by letter. The pleas of his friend Roucher, who has procured him a passport and advises him to leave Paris before he can be persecuted by the Revolutionary Tribunal, are in vain. Maddalena, impoverished by the turmoil of the revolution, appears and seeks help from Chénier (Duet Ecco l’altare / Here is the altar). As they are about to leave the dangerous place in the heart of the city, Gérard – now one of the heads of the revolution – rushes up with his retinue. He has followed Maddalena and throws himself upon her, but Chénier steps in and wounds him with his sword in the ensuing fight. Gérard recognizes the admired poet, urges him to flee, and asks him to take care of Maddalena. She has been brought to safety by Roucher.

Act III
In the assembly hall of the tribunal, fighters for the "new freedom" are being recruited. Gérard must compose an indictment for high treason against Chénier, who has since been arrested. Believing the poet to be lost from the outset, he casts aside all his scruples (Monologue Nemico della Patria / Enemy of the Fatherland). Then he is told that Maddalena has arrived, begging him for help. To save her beloved, she is willing to give herself to Gérard, who, moved by her nobility of spirit, promises to use his influence selflessly on Chénier's behalf. The court convenes, Chénier is called and defends himself proudly and confidently (Aria Sì fui soldato / Yes, I was a soldier). Amidst the furious roar of the audience, he is sentenced to death, despite Gérard's objections.

Act IV
In the courtyard of the Saint-Lazare prison, Chénier reads his last verses to his friend Roucher (Aria Come un bel dì di maggio / Like a beautiful day in May). Gérard brings Maddalena in and promises to beg Robespierre for mercy for the poet. Maddalena bribes the jailer Schmidt, so that he lets her stay among the prisoners in place of a young mother sentenced to death. Together with her beloved, she mounts the cart at dawn that takes them both to their execution.