A powerful opera verismo

Ill-fated love blossoms under the terror of the French Revolution in Umberto Giordano's verismo tale of the French poet the woman he falls for and the servant turned official who seeks to win her for himself, and is willing to do anything to get it.

Loosely based on the life of the man himself, Andrea Chenier is a poet who's heart is stolen by a young aristocrat, Maddelena, who as the tumolt engulfs the country finds her fortunes turned upsidedown. When Chenier takes her in he invokes the ire of Carlo Gerard, former a former servant of hers who has risen to the top of the new regime. Facing a date with madame guilotine, it's all Maddelena can do to petition Gerard and make him see his love for her would best be put to use in saving Chenier, but will it be too late for these star-crossed lovers, captured in the darkest time of France's history?