Charlotte Corday (opera)

[1] The work describes three encounters of the Girondin sympathizer Charlotte Corday with Jean-Paul Marat, leading figure of the radical Jacobin faction, two attempts and finally the assassination itself.

The premiere directed by Mario Martone and conducted by Roberto Abbado took place at the Teatro dell'Opera di Roma on 21 February 1989.

The opera had two subsequent new productions in Germany, one conducted by Istvan Dènes which was performed at the Theater Bremen on 28 April 1990, and the second conducted by Jan Michael Horstmann which ran for ten performances between 27 April and 7 June 2013 at the Mittelsächsisches Theater [de].

Charlotte releases and comforts him, thereby building up courage herself, then she buys a long-bladed knife and a shawl from a pedlar.

Act 2 On the Champ de Mars parade ground the decorations for the Bastille Day celebration are destroyed by a storm.

He admits to her his total, profound political disillusionment; she, on the contrary, believes that a heroic deed is more necessary than ever.

At the instant in which the blade descends upon him Marat understands the meaning of the look in Charlotte's eyes and dies without knowing her name.