Umberto Giordano Andrea Chénier

The opera is set in Paris before and during the French Revolution, opening at a ball at the Countess de Coigny’s château. As the servant Gérard prepares the banquet with other staff, he openly voices his loathing for the aristocracy. When the Countess appears with her daughter, Madeleine, it becomes clear that Gérard has long been in love with her. One of the guests is the poet André Chénier, who initially resists the crowd’s pleas for a recitation. Madeleine eventually persuades him, but Chénier’s verse turns into an indictment of the nobility and a paean to the poor. The guests are outraged, and Chénier lectures Madeleine about her naive view of life. Just as the dancing begins, a mob of locals bursts in, led by Gérard, who has cast off his servant’s livery. Some years later, during Robespierre’s Reign of Terror, Chénier is still living in Paris. Having recently received letters from an anonymous woman, he looks forward to a great love affair (despite being in grave danger). Yet when his friend Roucher begs him to flee, Chénier agrees to leave the city at dusk. But then he meets Madeleine, who reveals herself as the letter writer. Gérard, now a powerful revolutionary leader, makes his entrance, trying to stop the lovers from leaving. He and Chénier engage in a duel, upon which Gérard is wounded. The poet escapes but is later arrested at a friend’s house. Driven by jealousy, Gérard drafts a formal indictment against his rival. Madeleine visits Gérard, offering herself in exchange for the poet’s life. Greatly moved, Gérard changes course and fights for Chénier’s release, but he is sentenced to death by the Revolutionary Tribunal. Switching places with another condemned prisoner, Madeleine goes to the scaffold with Chénier.