- Main performer: Gabriele Santini
- Booklet languages: English, German, French
- Time: 115:01
- Release Date: 1994
Review
Franco Corelli was probably "king" among tenors past and present who have portrayed the title character in Umberto Giordano's great opera Andrea Chénier. This is saying a lot, as this is truly a tenor's opera -- Mario del Monaco, José Cura, and all three of the Three Tenors have all portrayed the ill-fated, love-starved, self-sacrificing poet. It is probably a backward compliment that among "unofficial" recordings of Andrea Chénier, Corelli is the most frequently represented tenor. However, there is really only one recording that is imperative to experience Corelli's Chénier: the 1963 EMI Angel studio version made with the Rome Opera and a provincial Italian cast led by Gabriele Santini in one of his last recordings. Santini had served as Toscanini's assistant at La Scala in the 1920s and was considered one of the most senior representatives among opera conductors in the Italy of his time. Despite that Corelli is the only star in the cast, this really isn't a disadvantage for the recording as a whole. Santini, at age 77, conducted the orchestra with an intensity that makes it seem as though it is on fire, and the chorus works hard to portray the French Revolution-era crowd as much as it sings the written parts.While this 2006 reissue is in a spiffier looking package than was used in Andrea Chénier's first CD reissue in 1994, there are aspects of the package that are less than perfect. EMI hasn't upgraded the digital remastering, and there is the occasional bad splice and aggressive noise reduction that makes instrumental passages such as the harp solo in Act One sound "squashy." The quality of the book is improved over the 1994 reissue, though it still contains no more than a scene-by-scene synopsis of the libretto, which is a pity as the version as published by author Luigi Ilica, widely available on the web, is not quite in line with that used by Giordano. Also, WLP Ltd. could have done a better job of copy editing the book, as underneath a reproduction of the front cover of the original Italian HMV issue of Andrea Chénier one reads the bold device "Caption here."
In order to get a better book, there are other good recordings of Andrea Chénier that one can try. However, one isn't going to find a better Chénier than Corelli. Just sample the aria "Un di all'azzurro spazio" toward the end of Act One -- the incredible power and personality of Franco Corelli in this role will make you a believer. ~ Uncle Dave Lewis, All Music Guide
Performances
| Composer | Title | Time |
| Umberto Giordano | Andrea Chénier, opera | 115:01 |
