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Royal Opera House: MANON LESCAUT ( Puccini)

Sun, 6th December, 2020 @ 14:00pm - 16:35pm

£8 – £13

For Manon Lescaut

MANON LESCAUT 

The Royal Opera | Recorded 2014

Please read the  Covid 19 audience info Here

Puccini’s first triumph returned to Covent Garden for the first time in 30 years in a new staging by Jonathan Kent, starring Kristine Opolais and Jonas Kaufmann.

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 both public and critics. Puccini’s sumptuous, richly-coloured score is characterized by youthful vitality and filled with glorious melodies, from Des Grieux and Manon’s passionate duet ‘Vedete? io son fedele’ to the overwhelming desolation of Manon’s final aria ‘Sola, perduta, abbandonata’.

Jonathan Kent – director of The Royal Opera’s Tosca – created this production of Manon Lescaut in 2014, The Royal Opera’s first production of the opera in 30 years. Kent finds contemporary resonance in the story of a woman tempted and misguided into acting against her best interests, and who finally receives retribution far more severe than her actions could ever deserve. Designs by Paul Brown create a harsh environment riven through with societal hypocrisy, in which Manon is trapped by those who will exploit her – and from which the only escape can be death.

Running time:  155 minutes (including one interval)

Sung in Italian with English subtitles

CREDITS

Cast

Kristine Opolais                 Manon Lescaut

Jonas Kaufmann               Chevalier Des Grieux

Production

Giacomo Puccini              Music

Antonio Pappano            Conductor

Jonathan Kent                   Director

 

Details

Date:
Sun, 6th December, 2020
Time:
14:00pm - 16:35pm
Cost:
£8 – £13
Event Category:

Venue

SpArC Theatre
Phone:
01588 630321 / 638038

Organiser

Liz Still