About the Production
The celebrated actress Adriana Lecouvreur loves Count Maurizio, who keeps his relationship with her a secret. The Princess of Bouillon also desires him.
Out of jealousy, she sends Adriana a poisoned bouquet of violets. Intrigues and misunderstandings come to a head while Maurizio stands between the women. Adriana realizes too late the origin of the gift and dies from its effects, believing in Maurizio's love.
Adriana
Lecouvreur
Storyline
Backstage at the Comédie-Française, actors and stage manager Michonnet are preparing for a performance. Among them is the famous tragedienne Adriana Lecouvreur(Adrienne Lecouvreur), who is loved by Michonnet.
She in turn loves Maurizio (Moritz von Sachsen), but he hides his true identity from her and pretends to be an ensign. Adriana gives him a bouquet of violets as a pledge of love. However, Maurizio also had an affair with the Princess of Bouillon; her husband, in turn, is having an affair with the actress Duclos. When the Prince of Bouillon intercepts a letter from Duclos to Maurizio in which she invites him to her villa after the performance, the Prince suspects Duclos of infidelity. In reality, however, the latter had written the letter on behalf of the Princess. To take revenge, the Prince invites the actors from the Comédie-Française to a party that evening at the villa he has given to Duclos.
At the Duclos' villa, the Princess of Bouillon awaits her beloved Maurizio, who is expecting political support from her. The jealous princess realizes that Maurizio no longer loves her; in order to deceive her, he gives her the bouquet of violets he received from Adriana shortly before. The two are interrupted by the arrival of the Prince, and the Princess manages to escape into a back room. Adriana, who is also present at the party, now learns Maurizio's true identity, but a discussion with him prevents the relationship from breaking up. In the dark back room, the two rivals for Maurizio's love - the Princess and Adriana - meet for the first time, but without recognizing each other. The princess finally manages to escape unrecognized.
At a party, the princess and Adriana realize that Maurizio is each other's lover.
A hidden conflict arises between the two jealous women. Adriana finally recites from Racine's Phèdre and exposes her rival with a few verses referring to the princess: "I cannot disguise myself like those impudent women who delight in deceit, whose icy foreheads can never blush again." The princess swears revenge.
Adriana, sick with love, wants to withdraw from the stage. She feels abandoned by Maurizio, a feeling that is intensified when a casket containing the now withered bouquet of violets is handed over. But then her lover arrives and asks her to be his wife. Adriana suddenly collapses - the bouquet of violets she has just smelled was in fact sent and poisoned by the princess. Adriana dies.
Sir David McVicar's production is set in the original period of the plot, i.e. Paris in 1730. The director deliberately avoided any transformation into another era, as in his opinion this would only damage or render incomprehensible both the story and the constellations and types of characters. Accordingly, the audience is also visually transported to a late baroque era and thus witnesses a long lost world.
Based on Italian verismo, the composer Francesco Cilea uses melodrama as a stylistic device that is effective and coherent in a theatrical context, in addition to a pointed, refined and ramified tonal language and languorous, shaded melodic power. He places prominent islands such as Adriana's famous aria "Io son l'umile ancella" or the equally well-known, dark "Acerba voluttà" of the poisonous Bouillon in the through-composed form - highlights that have also proven themselves in numerous concert programs.
There are artists who have made a lasting mark on cultural history with just a single work. The Italian composer Francesco Cilea is one of them. Even though he had a number of stage works to his name, his name will always be associated with his most important opera Adriana Lecouvreur. Cilea, a contemporary of Puccini and a musical beacon of hope in Italy at the end of the 19th century, scored the success of his life with this four-act opera.
