French-Sicilian tenor Roberto Alagna returns to Covent Garden for his 100th Royal Opera performance, singing the eponymous hero in Giordano's Andrea Chénier in the first revival of David McVicar’s spectacular 2015 production.
Roberto Alagna has sung leading roles with The Royal Opera for 27 years. He made his Royal Opera debut in 1992 as Rodolfo in La bohème and has since appeared regularly at Covent Garden, including in gala events and concerts. His most recent roles for the Company include Nemorino (L’elisir d’amore), Radames (Aida), Manrico (Il trovatore), Faust, Don José (Carmen), Mario Cavaradossi (Tosca) and Calaf (Turandot). He has also performed extensively at the world’s leading opera houses, winning global acclaim for his performances of French and Italian repertory.
Alongside Roberto Alagna, the stellar cast for Andrea Chénier includes American soprano Sondra Radvanovsky as Maddalena di Coigny, Greek baritone Dimitri Platanias as Carlo Gérard and English mezzo-soprano Christine Rice as Bersi, all regular performers for The Royal Opera. Israeli conductor Daniel Oren, another Royal Opera regular, conducts.
The revival of Andrea Chénier also sees English mezzo-soprano Rosalind Plowright return to the Company as Countess di Coigny, with the opening performance taking place the evening before her 70th birthday. This important milestone follows a long and varied Royal Opera career that began in 1980 and included performances of Andrea Chénier in 1984, when she sang the role of Maddalena di Coigny opposite José Carreras as Chénier.
Italian composer Umberto Giordano's verismo opera features a libretto by Puccini's regular collaborator Luigi Illica and is loosely based on the life and tragic death of the French poet André Chénier, who was executed during the French Revolution. David McVicar’s production evokes the profound social changes in late 18th-century Paris, with beautiful, historically-informed sets and costumes by Robert Jones and Jenny Tiramani.
Andrea Chénier opens on 20 May 2019, with subsequent performances on 24, 28 and 31 May and 3, 6 and 9 June 2019.
ANDREA CHÉNIER
20, 24, 28 and 31 May and 3 and 6 June 2019 at 7.30pm
9 June 2019 at 3pm
Co-production with National Centre for the Performing Arts, Beijing, and
San Francisco Opera
Generous philanthropic support from the Patrons of Covent Garden
Sung in Italian with English surtitles
Tickets available from the Royal Opera House website and Box Office
(+44 (0)20 7304 4000)
Credits
Music Umberto Giordano
Libretto Luigi Illica
Director David McVicar
Set designer Robert Jones
Costume designer Jenny Tiramani
Lighting designer Adam Silverman
Movement director Andrew George
Revival director Marie Lambert
Revival choreographer Colm Seery
Performers
Conductor Daniel Oren
Andrea Chénier Roberto Alagna
Maddalena di Coigny Sondra Radvanovsky
Carlo Gérard Dimitri Platanias
Bersi Christine Rice
Countess di Coigny Rosalind Plowright
The Incredibile Carlo Bosi
Roucher David Stout
Madelon Elena Zilio
Pietro Fléville Stephen Gadd
Abbé Aled Hall
Mathieu Adrian Clarke
Major-Domo John Cunningham
Dumas Germán E. Alcántara†
Schmidt Jeremy White
Royal Opera Chorus
Orchestra of the Royal Opera House
†Jette Parker Young Artist
