At the Metropolitan Opera's revival of Giordano's Andrea Chénier, a classic tale of doomed love set against the backdrop of the French Revolution, the cast promises much but often falls short. The show-stopping music and lush orchestral writing, courtesy of conductor Daniele Rustioni, are undeniably thrilling, yet are frequently overshadowed by vocal missteps from tenor Piotr Beczala and soprano Sonya Yoncheva.
Beczala's casting as the lead tenor is a puzzling one. The Polish singer has proven himself capable in roles like Fedora and Lohengrin, but his big lyric voice is too delicate for the demands of Andrea Chénier, particularly the character's iconic arias such as "Improvviso" and "Come un bel dì di maggio." His performances are loud and unsubtle, lacking the nuance and poeticism required to bring out the music's emotional depth.
In contrast, baritone Igor Golovatenko shines in his portrayal of Carlo Gérard, the tenor's nemesis. His voice is rich and expressive, filled with a compelling intensity that brings the character's tortured passion to life. The audience responded warmly to his performance, particularly in the thrilling big aria "Nemico della patria."
Supporting performances from the supporting cast are also noteworthy. Nancy Fabiola Herrera stands out as the Countess di Coigny, bringing dignity and haughtiness to the role. Alexander Birch Elliott impresses as Fléville, even if his part is somewhat limited by Joël's dated portrayal of the character.
Meanwhile, Siphokazi Molteno's Bersi is visually stunning, but her voice is often overpowered by Rustioni's lush orchestra. Guriy Gurev makes a pleasant impression as Roucher, while Maurizio Muraro brings a welcome level of menace to his role as Mathieu. Olesya Petrova delivers an arresting cameo as the blind Madelon.
However, Yoncheva's performance as Maddalena is a different story altogether. Despite her stylish intensity in earlier roles like Fedora and Norma, she proves woefully overmatched by the demands of this character. Her wobbly high notes and persistent intonation difficulties make it difficult to trust her voice, particularly in key moments such as the iconic "La mamma morta" aria.
The opera's third act duet with Beczala and Yoncheva is also marred by her vocal strain, which leaves the audience gasping in concern. The final high note she blasts out at the end of the performance raises questions about her suitability for future roles like Puccini's Cio-Cio-San in Madama Butterfly.
Ultimately, while Rustioni brings his customary flair and love for Giordano's music to the production, the vocal missteps from Beczala and Yoncheva mar an otherwise delightful evening. With better casting in the lead roles, this revival of Andrea Chénier could have been truly unforgettable.
Beczala's casting as the lead tenor is a puzzling one. The Polish singer has proven himself capable in roles like Fedora and Lohengrin, but his big lyric voice is too delicate for the demands of Andrea Chénier, particularly the character's iconic arias such as "Improvviso" and "Come un bel dì di maggio." His performances are loud and unsubtle, lacking the nuance and poeticism required to bring out the music's emotional depth.
In contrast, baritone Igor Golovatenko shines in his portrayal of Carlo Gérard, the tenor's nemesis. His voice is rich and expressive, filled with a compelling intensity that brings the character's tortured passion to life. The audience responded warmly to his performance, particularly in the thrilling big aria "Nemico della patria."
Supporting performances from the supporting cast are also noteworthy. Nancy Fabiola Herrera stands out as the Countess di Coigny, bringing dignity and haughtiness to the role. Alexander Birch Elliott impresses as Fléville, even if his part is somewhat limited by Joël's dated portrayal of the character.
Meanwhile, Siphokazi Molteno's Bersi is visually stunning, but her voice is often overpowered by Rustioni's lush orchestra. Guriy Gurev makes a pleasant impression as Roucher, while Maurizio Muraro brings a welcome level of menace to his role as Mathieu. Olesya Petrova delivers an arresting cameo as the blind Madelon.
However, Yoncheva's performance as Maddalena is a different story altogether. Despite her stylish intensity in earlier roles like Fedora and Norma, she proves woefully overmatched by the demands of this character. Her wobbly high notes and persistent intonation difficulties make it difficult to trust her voice, particularly in key moments such as the iconic "La mamma morta" aria.
The opera's third act duet with Beczala and Yoncheva is also marred by her vocal strain, which leaves the audience gasping in concern. The final high note she blasts out at the end of the performance raises questions about her suitability for future roles like Puccini's Cio-Cio-San in Madama Butterfly.
Ultimately, while Rustioni brings his customary flair and love for Giordano's music to the production, the vocal missteps from Beczala and Yoncheva mar an otherwise delightful evening. With better casting in the lead roles, this revival of Andrea Chénier could have been truly unforgettable.
the music is defo amazing but like beczala's vocals are so inconsistent 
he cant handle those huge arias and yoncheva's voice gets all strained in the third act 
its like they just phoned it in. but igor golovatenko as carlo gerard tho 
that guy's got some serious pipes and brings so much intensity to the role 
nancy fabiola herrera as the countess is also on point 
alexander birch elliot's performance is pretty cool too 
maybe they should've cast someone with more experience in those big roles tho 
. The music is straight fire, but when it comes to vocals, some of these singers are just not on point. Piotr Beczala and Sonya Yoncheva just didn't mesh for me... his voice is all wrong for those iconic roles 
. Meanwhile, Igor Golovatenko's performance as Carlo Gérard was EVERYTHING 
! And I'm loving the supporting cast, especially Nancy Fabiola Herrera as the Countess di Coigny 
. But overall, it feels like they could've done a lot better with casting and direction. Maybe they just need to brush up on their vocal technique 
. His lack of nuance and poeticism really threw off the performances for me, especially in those iconic arias. I mean, what happened to some of those big lyric voices that can sing with feeling? 
. I loved her in Fedora and Norma, but this character was just too much for her. Her voice got all wobbly and strained and it was like she was fighting a losing battle 
. I'm all for taking risks, but some performances are just better left alone 
.
.
. I mean, what's up with the big notes? In my day, we had Luciano Pavarotti and Maria Callas, now those were singers! 
The music was always in harmony, you know? Nowadays it's all about the show-stopping arias and the vocalists can't even get 'em right 
. I watched this Andrea Chénier thingy and I just couldn't help but feel like they were more interested in being flashy than actually singing 
. And don't even get me started on Piotr Beczala's performance - what a mess! 
. I mean, the music is alright, but it's not like anyone can really sing anymore 
. And don't even get me started on the conductor, I mean, what's with all that fuss about orchestral writing? It's just more noise 
. The rest of the cast is pretty good, but it's like they're trying to make up for the lead singers' mistakes 
. But, oh man, the lead tenor Piotr Beczala just didn't feel right for the role 
His voice was too soft and lacked that nuance and depth needed for Andrea Chénier's iconic arias.
He brought so much passion and intensity to his performance! The supporting cast was great too - Nancy Fabiola Herrera was fantastic as the Countess di Coigny, and Alexander Birch Elliott did a wonderful job as Fléville 
Her performance in Maddalena was really rough, especially with those high notes - it's like she was fighting against Rustioni's orchestra 
. And Maurizio Muraro as Mathieu was really menacing 
.
. It's really frustrating when I'm trying to follow along with a discussion on opera and the format is all over the place 
. The cast might not have been perfect, but the music was STUNNING 
. And can we please get more articles like this on the forum instead of just a bunch of shallow post comments 
?