Umberto Giordano's opera André Chénier on the lake stage

France in the year 1789. The aristocracy revels, the citizenry groans. And between two stools stands the poet André Chénier: adored by the rich for his touching verse, in his heart he remains a revolutionary.

Set against the background of the French Revolution, the opera André Chénier, which premiered at La Scala Milan in 1896, is a historical drama of sharp perceptivity and a human tragedy of devastating intensity; appealing both as a passionate love story and as a historical thriller. The central character is the eponymous French poet who got caught up in the turmoil of the revolution. First an enthusiastic supporter, he was appalled by the excesses of the tyrannical Jacobin regime, and was himself mercilessly persecuted and finally sent to the guillotine.

Lake Constance as bath tub

Director Keith Warner and stage designer David Fielding have chosen "The Death of Marat", an iconic painting by the revolutionary artist Jacques-Louis David, as the inspiration and symbol of their staging of André Chénier. It is the first time that a historical painting has served as the basis for a Bregenz stage set, which towers 24 metres high above Lake Constance. The famous image shows the radical revolutionary leader Jean Paul Marat after being stabbed in his bath tub by a political opponent in 1793.

Music of stirring emotion

Giordano's music is exuberant, ardent, biting and stirring, and the work culminates in a hymn to fraternity, love – and liberty in death. In his score, Giordano incorporated historical dances and marches from the time before the French Revolution, along with classic revolutionary songs like "Ça ira" and the Marseillaise. Together with rousing arias and breathtaking duets they lend a unique flavour to the opera.