0:00:02 > 0:00:05Superb. Exquisitely realised.
0:00:05 > 0:00:08Gold-plated. Perfection incarnate.
0:00:08 > 0:00:11Just some of the glowing reviews
0:00:11 > 0:00:14for this brand-new production of Andrea Chenier,
0:00:14 > 0:00:17directed by David McVicar,
0:00:17 > 0:00:21in its first staging here at the Royal Opera House for 30 years.
0:00:31 > 0:00:34When it was premiered in Milan in 1896,
0:00:34 > 0:00:37Andrea Chenier caused a sensation,
0:00:37 > 0:00:40particularly for the dramatic lyrical music
0:00:40 > 0:00:42for the tenor of the title role.
0:00:42 > 0:00:44This is, essentially, a love story
0:00:44 > 0:00:46set against the backdrop of the French Revolution
0:00:46 > 0:00:48and the bloody Reign of Terror.
0:00:48 > 0:00:51At its heart are a poet and a servant
0:00:51 > 0:00:55vying for the love of the same young aristocratic girl, Maddalena.
0:00:55 > 0:00:57The composer of the piece, Umberto Giordano,
0:00:57 > 0:00:59was a contemporary of Puccini's.
0:00:59 > 0:01:02In fact, their lives seemed almost to run in parallel.
0:01:02 > 0:01:05This opera was premiered within weeks of La Boheme
0:01:05 > 0:01:09and both composers used the same librettist, Luigi Illica.
0:01:09 > 0:01:11Now, assembling a top-notch cast
0:01:11 > 0:01:15is the key to any successful performance of Andrea Chenier
0:01:15 > 0:01:17and, tonight, we have one of the world's greatest
0:01:17 > 0:01:21and most sought-after tenors in the lead role -
0:01:21 > 0:01:23Jonas Kaufmann.
0:01:23 > 0:01:25Singing opposite him as his sweetheart
0:01:25 > 0:01:28is the soprano Eva-Maria Westbroek.
0:01:28 > 0:01:31And on the podium, Antonio Pappano.
0:01:31 > 0:01:35We caught up with our gold-plated cast and creative team
0:01:35 > 0:01:36during rehearsals.
0:01:36 > 0:01:39PIANO PLAYS
0:01:43 > 0:01:46Music is so gorgeous and so cantabile
0:01:46 > 0:01:48and so broad and so lush
0:01:48 > 0:01:52and all the stuff that, you know, we all want.
0:01:52 > 0:01:54It has a special allure for singers,
0:01:54 > 0:01:57the way it's written for the voice, the way...
0:01:57 > 0:01:59the spectacular jumps to the high notes.
0:01:59 > 0:02:03It's so full of life and so true to the drama.
0:02:03 > 0:02:06We're telling a story which has, you know,
0:02:06 > 0:02:10the names of real people, real characters, real locations,
0:02:10 > 0:02:13set in late-18th-century France.
0:02:13 > 0:02:18We begin in a chateau of a very wealthy aristocratic family,
0:02:18 > 0:02:20cocooned from the outside world,
0:02:20 > 0:02:22and we're about to see this family
0:02:22 > 0:02:25fall at the hands of the French Revolution.
0:02:29 > 0:02:32SHOUTING
0:02:35 > 0:02:38The story is about the French Revolution.
0:02:38 > 0:02:43The part of the people is very, very strong.
0:02:43 > 0:02:46The feeling of rebellion is there.
0:02:46 > 0:02:52And through Andrea Chenier, we see this great thinker,
0:02:52 > 0:02:55this person who has ideals about humanity
0:02:55 > 0:02:57and how people should be treated.
0:02:57 > 0:03:01HE SINGS IN ITALIAN
0:03:01 > 0:03:04We see him the first time in the first act
0:03:04 > 0:03:06entering a very glamorous party.
0:03:06 > 0:03:12And he's been asked, "Just do some poetry for us,"
0:03:12 > 0:03:15like stand-up comedy of nowadays, and he just says...
0:03:15 > 0:03:18He refuses. He says, "I can't. I don't have my inspiration."
0:03:18 > 0:03:20And then they're mocking him.
0:03:20 > 0:03:24And so he stands up and actually does a poem,
0:03:24 > 0:03:26but it's not one that they like,
0:03:26 > 0:03:29because it is criticising the society.
0:03:31 > 0:03:33The young Maddalena that you see in Act I
0:03:33 > 0:03:38is a bit of a...you know, a bit of a spoiled brat, in a way.
0:03:38 > 0:03:41But she then meets Andrea Chenier.
0:03:41 > 0:03:44He's, of course, very beautiful, very handsome.
0:03:44 > 0:03:50But, also, he has an amazing passion to fight against injustice,
0:03:50 > 0:03:53and she falls in love with him because of it.
0:03:53 > 0:03:56THEY SING IN ITALIAN
0:03:59 > 0:04:02Carlo Gerard is a servant
0:04:02 > 0:04:06at the palace where Maddalena lives as well
0:04:06 > 0:04:11and is secretly in love with her.
0:04:12 > 0:04:17Of course, she falls in love with somebody else, that's Chenier.
0:04:17 > 0:04:19And...
0:04:19 > 0:04:23Well, you know, because of my feelings to her,
0:04:23 > 0:04:25I kind of respect that.
0:04:25 > 0:04:27SHE SINGS IN ITALIAN
0:04:31 > 0:04:37Bersi is the servant companion of Maddalena.
0:04:37 > 0:04:43She's a little bit more of a sister, but in any case, that's what she is.
0:04:43 > 0:04:45HE SINGS IN ITALIAN
0:04:48 > 0:04:54Gerard is very angry about the fact that his father, for example,
0:04:54 > 0:04:58has spent his entire life working for the countess and is old now,
0:04:58 > 0:05:02and the people on the streets who are hungry and who need help,
0:05:02 > 0:05:07and what we see from Bersi is that she's aligned with his sentiment.
0:05:07 > 0:05:08So, I would say that, politically,
0:05:08 > 0:05:14she's very much, you know, in sync with the common people.
0:05:18 > 0:05:22Giordano is an absolutely phenomenal composer
0:05:22 > 0:05:26and he writes so wonderful for the voice.
0:05:26 > 0:05:30It's refined, but it has these amazing melodies.
0:05:30 > 0:05:32PIANO PLAYS
0:05:34 > 0:05:36One of the features of this score
0:05:36 > 0:05:41is a parody or a reworking of rococo ideals.
0:05:41 > 0:05:46Think powdered wigs and dance steps...
0:05:46 > 0:05:50HE PLAYS A JAUNTY TUNE
0:05:50 > 0:05:55This music denotes or underlines the aristocracy.
0:06:02 > 0:06:04Now the servants' music.
0:06:04 > 0:06:09HE PLAYS A DISPIRITING TUNE
0:06:14 > 0:06:18This music is much more Italian in character
0:06:18 > 0:06:21with strongly poignant accents.
0:06:25 > 0:06:27So, you have this amazing contrast,
0:06:27 > 0:06:31which Illica, the librettist, and Giordano,
0:06:31 > 0:06:35wanted to, right away, put the audience in front of this...
0:06:37 > 0:06:40..imbalance - the haves and the have-nots.
0:06:40 > 0:06:45Which then, of course, creates the terrain for the revolution.
0:06:56 > 0:06:57APPLAUSE
0:07:15 > 0:07:17ORCHESTRA PLAYS
0:15:57 > 0:16:00THEY LAUGH
0:16:40 > 0:16:41HE LAUGHS
0:19:47 > 0:19:48CLAPPING
0:24:42 > 0:24:45HARPSICHORD PLAYS
0:26:02 > 0:26:04THEY LAUGH
0:31:42 > 0:31:44APPLAUSE
0:36:25 > 0:36:28APPLAUSE
0:37:13 > 0:37:15ORCHESTRA PLAYS
0:50:37 > 0:50:39SHE CRIES OUT IN DELIGHT
0:52:57 > 0:52:59HE SINGS TO HIMSELF
0:53:37 > 0:53:39HE CONTINUES SINGING TO HIMSELF
1:02:11 > 1:02:13APPLAUSE
1:02:50 > 1:02:52HE CRIES OUT
1:04:07 > 1:04:09APPLAUSE
1:04:43 > 1:04:45APPLAUSE
1:05:06 > 1:05:08ORCHESTRA PLAYS
1:18:18 > 1:18:20HE LAUGHS
1:22:52 > 1:22:54APPLAUSE
1:33:55 > 1:33:57APPLAUSE
1:37:06 > 1:37:08MURMURING
1:38:09 > 1:38:11THEY LAUGH
1:38:58 > 1:39:00THEY LAUGH
1:39:14 > 1:39:16THEY LAUGH
1:39:20 > 1:39:22THEY CALL OUT
1:44:40 > 1:44:43THEY SHOUT OUT
1:45:07 > 1:45:09APPLAUSE
1:45:32 > 1:45:35ORCHESTRA PLAYS
1:50:06 > 1:50:09MAN SINGS TUNE OF "LA MARSEILLAISE"
2:00:32 > 2:00:35CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
2:00:48 > 2:00:50APPLAUSE CONTINUES
2:01:27 > 2:01:30CHEERING
2:01:53 > 2:01:54CHEERING
2:02:12 > 2:02:14CHEERING
2:02:49 > 2:02:51CHEERING