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Reuters, Jan 21, 2015 |
BY MICHAEL RODDY |
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Giordano: Andrea Chenier, London, Royal Opera House, 20. Januar 2015 |
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Kaufmann's 'Chenier' opera has added relevance after France events
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German tenor Jonas Kaufmann gave his legions of fans what they pay for in a
revival of Umberto Giordano's French Revolution opera "Andrea Chenier" at
Covent Garden on Tuesday that took on unanticipated relevance due to recent
events in France.
The 1896 opera is based on the real-life poet Andre
Chenier, who was carted off to the guillotine just three days before
revolution leader Maximilien de Robespierre met the same fate.
"I
made my pen a glorious weapon against hypocrisy," Kaufmann, as Chenier, sang
at his trial held in a room filled with citizens baying for his head.
With trappings including a huge on-stage banner saying "Citizens, our
country is in danger," the timeliness of the production, which opened two
weeks after members of the editorial staff of the French satirical weekly
Charlie Hebdo were gunned down by Islamist militants angered by their
portrayal of the Prophet Mohammad, was hard to escape.
It was the
first time in 30 years that Covent Garden put on "Chenier," and the staging
by David McVicar did not stint on chandeliers and liveried servants to evoke
the chateau lifestyle the mobs overthrew.
McVicar also played it
straight for the courtroom and the prison, where Chenier and his lover
Maddalena, sung by Dutch soprano Eva-Maria Westbroek, were reunited for a
last embrace before being carted off to the guillotine.
This
production was all about the star singers Kaufmann and Westbroek and the
rising star of Serbian baritone Zeljko Lucic as Gerard, Chenier's rival for
Maddalena's affections who sets a trap for the poet - which he later regrets
doing - that leads to his death.
Kaufmann has the lion's share of the
arias and if his voice was a shade darker than that of the great Italian
tenors who have sung the role, his musicality, power and charisma won the
day.
Westbroek, too, has great stage presence, but the man of the
night may well have been Lucic. His gloomy, third-act aria where he sings
about his power over people - including Chenier and Maddalena - because of
his position as a leading Jacobin was chilling and moving at the same time.
Covent Garden's music director Antonio Pappano brought out every ounce
of emotion and drama in the score of a work that is impressive as a star
vehicle and clearly has a message for today.
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