Adriana Lecouvreur

Starring Angela Gheorghiu as the celebrated French actress Adriana Lecouvreur and Jonas Kaufmann as her lover Maurizio Count of Saxony Cilea s verismo drama explores celebrity romance jealousy and death The trio of sublime voices is completed by Russian mezzosoprano Olga Borodina as Adriana s jealous rival the Princess de Bouillon David McVicar s hit production the first performance of the opera at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden for more than a century presents the life of the French actress as a blurring of the distinction between fantasy and reality The action revolves around a lifesize Baroque Theatre taking us from the bustle and colour of the first act backstage at the playhouse to the bare final scenes as the drama reaches its fatal climax