Andrea Chenier
Composer
Librettist
Based On
loosely, the life of the French poet André Chénier, executed during the French Revolution
Company
San Francisco Opera Association
Location
San Francisco, CA
Venue
War Memorial Opera House
Season
1938
Language
Italian
Creative/Crew
Cast
Andrea Chénier, a poet of the French Revolution
Madeleine, daughter of the Countess de Coigny
Countess de Coigny
Bersi, Madeleine's maid
Gérard, Footman at the Chateau Coigny, later a Revolutionist
Richard Bonelli(10/7)
Carlo Tagliabue(10/15)
Majordomo of the Château Coigny
Fleville, a novelist, pensioner of the King
Abbe
Spy for the Revolutionists
Roucher, Chénier's friend
Madelon, a blind woman
Mathieu, a Revolutionist
Fouquier-Tinville, Public Prosecutor
Dumas, President of the Revolutionary Tribunal
Schmidt, Jailer at St. Lazare
Roger Albert, a boy
Show Dates
Broadcast
Live broadcast, Act I.
Time and Place
The French Revolution; Paris
Scenes
Act I -- Ballroom of Château de Coigny
Act II -- Café Hottot in Paris
Act III -- Revolutionary Tribunal and Prison of St. Lazare
Act IV -- Same as Act III -- At Dawn
Media
Document
SFO_PUB_01_SFO_1938_01_compressed.pdf
(7.18 MB)
Notes
To access the full production program, click the PDF link above.
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10/7/1938, live broadcast, Act I: "Andrea Chénier, Act I (incomplete): Beniamino Gigli, Elisabeth Rethberg, Richard Bonelli; Gaetano Merola. Opening night of the season. Only a few of the discs preserving this broadcast survived, but fortunately Gigli’s magnificent performance of the “Improviso” was one of them."