Jonas Kaufmann as Des Grieux sings 'Donna non vidi mai' from Act I of
Jonathan Kent's production of Giacomo Puccini's Manon Lescaut, The Royal
Opera, 2014.
Find out more at www.roh.org.uk/manonlescaut
Puccini’s
publisher tried to prevent him from adapting Abbé Prévost’s L’Histoire
du chevalier des Grieux et de Manon Lescaut – Massenet had already
created a highly successful opera based on the novel. But Puccini was
not to be dissuaded, claiming ‘a woman like Manon can have more than one
lover’. Despite a troubled gestation (five librettists were engaged in
the project), the premiere of Manon Lescaut in 1893 was Puccini’s first
major triumph – a hit with critics and the public alike.
Jonathan
Kent – director of The Royal Opera’s much-loved staging of Tosca –
brings a new production of Manon Lescaut to Covent Garden. Puccini’s
sumptuous, richly-coloured score is characterized by youthful vitality
and filled with glorious melodies. Des Grieux expresses his passion for
Manon in the Act I aria ‘Vedete? io son fedele’, lively dances evoke
Manon’s luxurious life in Paris in Act II, while in the impassioned
finale to Act III, ‘Pazza son!’, Des Grieux begs to be allowed to join
the imprisoned Manon on her voyage to America. The opera culminates in
Manon’s heartbreaking Act IV aria ‘Sola, perduta, abbandonata’, as she
contemplates her impending death.
Jonathan Kent's production of Giacomo Puccini's Manon Lescaut, The Royal
Opera, 2014.
Find out more at www.roh.org.uk/manonlescaut
Puccini’s
publisher tried to prevent him from adapting Abbé Prévost’s L’Histoire
du chevalier des Grieux et de Manon Lescaut – Massenet had already
created a highly successful opera based on the novel. But Puccini was
not to be dissuaded, claiming ‘a woman like Manon can have more than one
lover’. Despite a troubled gestation (five librettists were engaged in
the project), the premiere of Manon Lescaut in 1893 was Puccini’s first
major triumph – a hit with critics and the public alike.
Jonathan
Kent – director of The Royal Opera’s much-loved staging of Tosca –
brings a new production of Manon Lescaut to Covent Garden. Puccini’s
sumptuous, richly-coloured score is characterized by youthful vitality
and filled with glorious melodies. Des Grieux expresses his passion for
Manon in the Act I aria ‘Vedete? io son fedele’, lively dances evoke
Manon’s luxurious life in Paris in Act II, while in the impassioned
finale to Act III, ‘Pazza son!’, Des Grieux begs to be allowed to join
the imprisoned Manon on her voyage to America. The opera culminates in
Manon’s heartbreaking Act IV aria ‘Sola, perduta, abbandonata’, as she
contemplates her impending death.
