Good studio recordings of Andrea Chénier are in plentiful supply, Corelli's own of 1963 (see above) among them. But the audience are part of this opera, almost as surely as the crowd are part of the Revolution. As the audience here becomes drawn in (it was not an opera at that time very familiar to the Viennese) so the performance gains warmth, and by the third act house and stage are very much as one. The applause after Gérard's “Nemico della patria” is almost written into the score, and that evening it poured forth, both in recognition of Bastianini's fine performance and as a token that this is the kind of thing that makes us happy, glad we came, or in the awful modern jargon, that this is what opera is “about”. Of course it isn't (opera isn't “about” anything) but it might be no bad thing if composers, producers and (incidentally) critics sometimes took thoughtful heed of such tokens.
<>BR>According to the book on Corelli by Marina Boagno (Parma, Azzali: 1990), at least 10 of his stage performances as Chénier are preserved in sound. This from Vienna comes from the time when the opera was foremost in his repertoire (1960 had opened with a run of seven performances at La Scala). He sings with gloriously resonant tone and eloquent expression but I don't find much support in this instance for the oft-repeated opinion that the studio recordings are “a mere shadow” of the man heard live. His declamatory gestures are a degree broader in the theatre but there is nothing inhibited about his singing in the studio performance. Nor does the presence of von Matacic as conductor in Vienna appear to make much difference to Corelli, though its effect on the work as a whole is to bring energy where Santini seems often to supervise rather than direct.

With Tebaldi and Bastianini in the other principal parts, the casting could hardly have been stronger at the top, but this is an opera rich in secondary roles and a great effect is made here by the appearance of Vienna's beloved Hilde Konetzni (she first sang there in 1936) as the old woman who gives up her son to the Revolution. Bastianini hasn't the bite and darkness in his voice for the complete Gérard but he is in the true line of Italian baritones and clearly a great favourite with the audience. As Maddalena, Tebaldi has endearing moments of tenderness and matches Corelli well in their duets but she lacks the smouldering intensity of a Muzio or Callas to make her aria tell memorably in this tenor-centric opera. The recording is fully competitive with the familiar studio versions and, as I say, has the bonus of a responsive audience. The performance has been issued previously but this edition in the State Opera's archival series, clear in sound, well presented and readily available, can now take their place.