Opera in 4 acts by Francesco Cilea, libretto by Arturo Colautti

Recorded at the Royal Opera House on November 22 and December 4, 2010

Based on the play Adrienne Lecouvreur by Ernest Legouvé and Eugène Scribe, which was based on the life of the French actress Adrienne Lecouvreur (originally Adrienne Couvreur). Born in 1692, her first stage appearance was in Lille, but it was after her Paris debut in 1717 at the Comédie Française that she became immensely popular with the public. Together with the actor and playwright Michel Baron, they were credited for introducing a more natural, less stylized, type of acting, which was prevalent in Europe at the time. In spite of her professional achievements, it was her romance with the soldier and military strategist Maurice, Count of Saxony that caught the imagination of the public. Her mysterious death also added to the the public's interest in her, some claiming she was poisoned by a rival, possibly Louise Henriette Françoise de Lorraine, although it appears there is very little evidence for this.

Her colorful personal life as well the mystery surrounding her death made her an ideal subject for works by playwrights, composers and poets, hence the play that became the source material for the opera. However, most of the characters and events that appear in the opera are purely fictional or speculative, including her death by poisoned violets.

Cast and creatives

Conductor Mark Elder

Director David McVicar

Adriana Lecouvreur Angela Gheorghiu

Maurizio Jonas Kaufmann

Princess de Bouillon Olga Vladimirovna Borodina

Michonnet Alessandro Corbelli