Giordano: Andrea Chénier (Bavarian State Opera, Munich, directed by Philipp Stölzl)

Andrea Chénier, first performed in 1896, is considered a key work of Verismo: With the melodrama about the historical figure of a poet in the turmoil of the French Revolution, the composer Umberto Giordano created his emotionally charged masterpiece. The premiere production of the opera at the National Theatre Munich in 2017 was also the debut of the director and set designer Philipp Stölzl at the Bavarian State Opera, who had already achieved success in both film and acting and now proved his imaginative, detailed, and expressive directorial style in opera. The singing cast with Jonas Kaufmann and Anja Harteros is also spectacular, who have been considered the ultimate opera dream couple since the Lohengrin premiere in 2009.