Umberto Giordano is our composer for two tales of doomed love on this week’s Sunday Opera (10/1 3:00 p.m.). We continue with our season from the San Francisco Opera and their recent production of “Andrea Chenier.” The poet Chenier (Yonghoon Lee) is falsely accused by the servant Gerard (George Gagnidze) and sentenced to death during the French Revolution. The object of Gerard’s ardour, Maddalena (Anna Pirozzi) who is in love with Chenier, begs Gerard to rescind the execution order. When that fails, Maddalena changes places with a woman sentenced to death, and she and Chenier, both innocents, bravely face the guillotine together. The second opera is an earlier work that is rarely performed today. Join Michael Kownacky for “Siberia” which had its premiere in 1903 and is possibly based on parts of Leo Tolstoy’s novel “Resurrection.” Stephana (Luisa Maragliano) is in love with Vassili (Amedeo Zambon), but she is desired by Prince Alexis (Mario Ferrara) who wants her to be his mistress. In order to have her, Vassili is banished to a work farm in Siberia after killing Alexis while protecting Stephana. Undaunted, Stephana makes her way to Sibera to be with Vassili with dire consequences.
The Sunday Opera: Giordano's "Andrea Chenier" from the San Francisco Opera
