Act 1
Spring 1789
The Salon of the Contessa di Coigny
Preparations are being made in the ballroom of the Coigny household for a reception. One of the servants, Carlo Gerard, who secretly loves Maddalena di Coigny, rages against the aristocracy. The guests arrive, among them the poet Andrea Chénier, the novelist Fléville, and the Abbot who brings the latest disturbing news from Paris. Maddalena asks Chénier for a poem. He cannot, he says, create a poem at a moment's notice. But her taunting inspires him, and he improvises a poem contrasting the beauties of nature with the greed of the church and the aristocracy. To the further embarrassment of the guests, Gerard enters with a group of peasants who beg for alms. The Contessa orders their removal and dismisses Gerard before continuing with the festivities.
ACT 2
July 1794
Café Hottot
The Revolution has turned into the Terror. At the Café Hottot, Chénier is urged by his friend Roucher to flee from Paris as he is under constant surveillance by the Revolutionary Government, of which Gerard is now an important member. Chénier decides to wait for a woman (Maddalena) who has been sending him mysterious, anonymous letters. The spy, Incredibile, sees them together and runs off to inform Gerard. Chénier and Maddalena declare their love for one another but are interrupted by Gerard, who is wounded in an ensuing fight with Chénier. Gerard warns Chénier that he is in danger and allows him to escape. Gerard tells the police that he does not know the identity of his assailant.
ACT 3
July 1794 In an abandoned church
The people assemble to hear a call for greater sacrifice. Madelon, an old woman, offers her only remaining grandson for France. Chénier has been arrested and is to be tried before the Revolutionary Tribunal. Gerard is persuaded to write out the formal indictment against him. He bitterly reflects on what envy of Chénier and Maddalena's love has done to him. Maddalena arrives and implores Gerard to help Chénier, offering herself to him if he will attempt to save the poet. When the Tribunal assembles, Gerard pleads for Chénier. Neither his words nor the passionate outbursts of the poet are enough: Chénier is condemned to death.
ACT 4
July 1794
The Saint Lazare Prison
In the Home for Lepers of Saint-Lazare, now a prison, Chénier reads his final poem to Roucher while awaiting execution. Gerard enters with Maddalena, who bribes the jailer to let her take the place of a female prisoner, Idia Legray, and die with her lover. Evoking the strength of their eternal love, the couple is led off to the guillotine.
Adapted from a synopsis by L’Opera de Montreal