By Francis Carlin [Financial Times, 10 December 2009]
Giordano’s Andrea ChÈnier (1896), like Cilea’s Adriana Lecouvreur (1902), is a second-division opera that with the right, sophisticated treatment can sweep even cynics off their feet. The Paris Opera managed it handsomely for the Cilea in 1993 when Jean-Luc BouttÈ promoted the work to the operatic premier league by tempering the music’s verismo accents with fine acting and simple, elegant sets.