Ken Howard/Metropolitan Opera |
Composer: Giacomo Puccini
Librettists: Ruggiero Leoncavallo, Domenico Oliva, Marco Praga, Giuseppe Giacosa, Luigi Illica, Giulio Riccordi
Production: Gina Lapinski
Conductor: James Levine
Performers: Karita Mattila (Manon Lescaut), Dwayne Croft (Lescaut), Dale Travis (Geronte di Ravoir)
Synopsis:
On the heels of her triumph in Jenufa, Finnish soprano Karita Mattila adds another landmark role to her Met repertory, the free-spirited beauty Manon Lescaut. Puccini’s early success tells the story of the magnetic attraction between two young lovers. Joined by acclaimed tenor Marcello Giordani and conducted by James Levine, Mattila finds the perfect vehicle for her exhilarating charisma in Puccini’s title heroine.
Opera synopsis courtesy of the Metropolitan Opera
Funding for GREAT PERFORMANCES AT THE MET: “Manon Lescaut” has been provided by Toll Brothers, the Irene Diamond Fund, the Charles E. Culpeper Foundation, Donald G. Sisler, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and PBS.
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I have to applaud them for being so bold as to try somhteing “new,” especially at a season opening. I’m not sure it was the most well thought out plan, but hey, if anyone is in a position to try somhteing like that with decreased risk, it’s the Met. Who knows if the MN Opera would be able to recover from somhteing like that.(Side note Sam, did you catch what Stephen Hough’s encore was last week and who he dedicated it to?)