ANDREA CHÉNIER – GIORDANO
Presented on Apr 23, 26, May 1, 4 at the Gaiety Theatre Dublin as part of the Dublin Grand Opera Society’s Spring Season
Antonio Galié – Chénier
Caterina Mancini – Maddalena
Giulio Mastrangelo – Gérard
Ferruccio Mazzoli – Roucher
Silvia Bertona – Bersi
Arturo La Porta – Mathieu
Giannella Borelli – Madelon / Countess
Franco Taino – Incroyable
Renzo Gonzales – Fléville / Dumas
Giorgio Onesti – Fouquier-Tinville / Schmidt
Brendan Cavanagh – Abbé
Giuseppe Morelli – Conductor
Bruno Nofri – Producer
Andrea Chenier – DGOS – Gaiety Theatre 1957
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A magnificent illustrated souvenir brochure was produced to accompany the Spring 1957 season:
If the society had been pleased with the box-office response to Turandot, it was clearly disappointed in the case of Giordano’s “Andrea Chenier” which it was also staging for the first time. And none more so than Dr Larchet who had helped persuade Maestro Botti and Colonel O’Kelly to present it. The work was already gaining in popularity in leading opera houses and Larchet believed it was time that Dublin audiences heard it. Set in the time of the French Revolution, it is noteworthy musically for its stirring choruses, arias and flowing melody. Tenors continue to be attracted to the role of Chenier, as baritones are to Gerard. The society was satisfied it had in Caterina Mancini, Antonio Galie and Giulio Mastrangelo the ideal set of principals. As in the case of “Turandot”, additional money was provided to ensure that the revolutionary mood was reflected in the sets and costumes. There was, however, a disappointing attendance on the opening night in April, with empty seats in the stalls and dress circle. Dr Larchet did not appear too disappointed. Confronted by an evening newspaper columnist in the bar afterwards he said calmly, ‘The Dublinman is reputed to know what he likes. I think it would be more correct to say that he likes what he knows.’ Pressed if the society would continue to put on operas unfamiliar to Irish opera fans, the society’s president replied, ‘We blazed the trail with “Tosca” and in a few years time I confidently believe that “Chenier” will be equally popular.’ In his review in the Evening Herald, critic Brian Quinn touched on the question: ‘The only excursion from the usual repertoire being made this season by the DGOS is Giordano’s “Andrea Chenier” was given a first performance last night. The Gaiety was not completely full. Perhaps the fact that the composer died in 1948 made him sufficiently modern to scare away some people. They need not have worried. Giordano, as a composer of rich melody and an inventor of dramatic situation, is only a step below Puccini (who overshadowed him and that is no mean place in Opera’s Hall of Fame). He singled out Caterina Mancini as the star of an exciting evening in the theatre and said her duet with Antonio Galie in the final act was the undoubted highlight. He praised the chorus for its assured singing in such exalted company.
(Extracted from “Love and Music: The Glorious History of the Dublin Grand Opera Society” by Gus Smith, 1998)
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