Andrea Chénier from the Royal Opera House

Superb. Exquisitely realised.

Gold-plated. Perfection incarnate.

Just some of the glowing reviews

for this brand-new production of Andrea Chenier,

directed by David McVicar,

in its first staging here at the Royal Opera House for 30 years.

When it was premiered in Milan in 1896,

Andrea Chenier caused a sensation,

particularly for the dramatic lyrical music

for the tenor of the title role.

This is, essentially, a love story

set against the backdrop of the French Revolution

and the bloody Reign of Terror.

At its heart are a poet and a servant

vying for the love of the same young aristocratic girl, Maddalena.

The composer of the piece, Umberto Giordano,

was a contemporary of Puccini's.

In fact, their lives seemed almost to run in parallel.

This opera was premiered within weeks of La Boheme

and both composers used the same librettist, Luigi Illica.

Now, assembling a top-notch cast

is the key to any successful performance of Andrea Chenier

and, tonight, we have one of the world's greatest

and most sought-after tenors in the lead role -

Jonas Kaufmann.

Singing opposite him as his sweetheart

is the soprano Eva-Maria Westbroek.

And on the podium, Antonio Pappano.

We caught up with our gold-plated cast and creative team

during rehearsals.

PIANO PLAYS

Music is so gorgeous and so cantabile

and so broad and so lush

and all the stuff that, you know, we all want.

It has a special allure for singers,

the way it's written for the voice, the way...

the spectacular jumps to the high notes.

It's so full of life and so true to the drama.

We're telling a story which has, you know,

the names of real people, real characters, real locations,

set in late-18th-century France.

We begin in a chateau of a very wealthy aristocratic family,

cocooned from the outside world,

and we're about to see this family

fall at the hands of the French Revolution.

SHOUTING

The story is about the French Revolution.

The part of the people is very, very strong.

The feeling of rebellion is there.

And through Andrea Chenier, we see this great thinker,

this person who has ideals about humanity

and how people should be treated.

HE SINGS IN ITALIAN

We see him the first time in the first act

entering a very glamorous party.

And he's been asked, "Just do some poetry for us,"

like stand-up comedy of nowadays, and he just says...

He refuses. He says, "I can't. I don't have my inspiration."

And then they're mocking him.

And so he stands up and actually does a poem,

but it's not one that they like,

because it is criticising the society.

The young Maddalena that you see in Act I

is a bit of a...you know, a bit of a spoiled brat, in a way.

But she then meets Andrea Chenier.

He's, of course, very beautiful, very handsome.

But, also, he has an amazing passion to fight against injustice,

and she falls in love with him because of it.

THEY SING IN ITALIAN

Carlo Gerard is a servant

at the palace where Maddalena lives as well

and is secretly in love with her.

Of course, she falls in love with somebody else, that's Chenier.

And...

Well, you know, because of my feelings to her,

I kind of respect that.

SHE SINGS IN ITALIAN

Bersi is the servant companion of Maddalena.

She's a little bit more of a sister, but in any case, that's what she is.

HE SINGS IN ITALIAN

Gerard is very angry about the fact that his father, for example,

has spent his entire life working for the countess and is old now,

and the people on the streets who are hungry and who need help,

and what we see from Bersi is that she's aligned with his sentiment.

So, I would say that, politically,

she's very much, you know, in sync with the common people.

Giordano is an absolutely phenomenal composer

and he writes so wonderful for the voice.

It's refined, but it has these amazing melodies.

PIANO PLAYS

One of the features of this score

is a parody or a reworking of rococo ideals.

Think powdered wigs and dance steps...

HE PLAYS A JAUNTY TUNE

This music denotes or underlines the aristocracy.

Now the servants' music.

HE PLAYS A DISPIRITING TUNE

This music is much more Italian in character

with strongly poignant accents.

So, you have this amazing contrast,

which Illica, the librettist, and Giordano,

wanted to, right away, put the audience in front of this...

..imbalance - the haves and the have-nots.

Which then, of course, creates the terrain for the revolution.

APPLAUSE

ORCHESTRA PLAYS

THEY LAUGH

HE LAUGHS

CLAPPING

HARPSICHORD PLAYS

THEY LAUGH

APPLAUSE

APPLAUSE

ORCHESTRA PLAYS

SHE CRIES OUT IN DELIGHT

HE SINGS TO HIMSELF

HE CONTINUES SINGING TO HIMSELF

APPLAUSE

HE CRIES OUT

APPLAUSE

APPLAUSE

ORCHESTRA PLAYS

HE LAUGHS

APPLAUSE

APPLAUSE

MURMURING

THEY LAUGH

THEY LAUGH

THEY LAUGH

THEY CALL OUT

THEY SHOUT OUT

APPLAUSE

ORCHESTRA PLAYS

MAN SINGS TUNE OF "LA MARSEILLAISE"

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

APPLAUSE CONTINUES

CHEERING

CHEERING

CHEERING

CHEERING