Andrea Chénier - ’Un dì, all’azzurro spazio’ (Jonas Kaufmann, The Royal Opera; Giordano)

Jonas Kaufmann sings Andrea Chénier’s aria ’Un dì, all’azzurro spazio’ from the opera of the same name, which is available to stream from David McVicar’s spectacular, almost cinematic Royal Opera production of Umberto Giordano’s gripping opera set in late 18th-century Paris, with Jonas Kaufmann, Eva-Maria Westbroek and Željko Lučić in the lead roles. Beautiful, historically-informed sets and costumes by Robert Jones and Jenny Tiramani evoke the profound social changes of pre- and post-revolutionary France. Giordano’s Andrea Chénier, with libretto by Puccini’s regular collaborator Luigi Illica, is loosely based on the life and tragic death of the French poet André Chénier, who was executed during the French Revolution. The premiere on 28 March 1896 was a great success, and the opera became one of the most popular examples of the verismo (literally, ’realist’) move