Puccini: Manon Lescaut / Guleghina, Cura, Gallo; Muti

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Puccini struggled especially hard with the birth of Manon Lescaut, his first triumph, and--for all its flaws--his first real masterpiece. There's no question that the compassion he felt for the confused and ultimately doomed heroine of Abbé Prévost's 18th-century novel generated the kind of intensity he brought to Mimi or Tosca. Puccini's desire to surpass Massenet's famous version inspired him to break the mold and point to an excitingly new kind of music theater--even if he drove a whole bevy of librettists mad in the process and never solved the problem of the story's climax. This live performance from June 1998 at La Scala is clearly banking on the star power of José Cura, who indeed makes his memorable mark on des Grieux. It's exactly the kind of role to absorb Cura's drawbacks (his moments of insecurity and odd phrasings) and let his strengths shine, and Cura uses his wonderfully dark, ardent tenor to embody des Grieux in all his helpless passion. As the title heroine, Maria Guleghina can be exasperatingly supercharged and blowsy one moment, beguiling the next. She's not all that convincing at the character's frantic mood shifts, but is emotionally gripping in her bleak final monologue. Riccardo Muti is less uptight than usual in the pit and throws welcome light on the score's notable symphonic depth, bringing a sense of coherency to Puccini's not-quite-perfected vision. Some moments of frazzled string ensemble aside, the band plays beautifully; it's melting in the third-act tableau and italicizes all the Tristan-ish moments with passion. --Thomas May

Puccini: Manon Lescaut / Guleghina, Cura, Gallo; Muti, Music, Giacomo Puccini, Riccardo Muti, Maria Guleghina, José Cura, Orchestra e Coro del Teatro alla Scala, Lucio Gallo, Marco Berti, Classical, Classical Music, Italian Romantic Opera, Opera, Opera / Operetta / Oratorio, Opera/Operetta

Average customer rating:

A VERY GOOD live Manon Lescaut

Very Promising!

Sparks fly as stars ignite La Scala

BRAVO ! BRAVO! BRAVO!

Puccini's "dark" lovers?

Puccini: Manon Lescaut / Guleghina, Cura, Gallo; Muti
Giacomo Puccini , Riccardo Muti , Maria Guleghina , José Cura , Orchestra e Coro del Teatro alla Scala , Lucio Gallo , and Marco Berti
Manufacturer: Deutsche Grammophon
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B00004KDE7
Release Date: 2000-04-11

Tracks:

Manon Lescaut: Act 1: 'Ave, sera gentile' (Edmondo) (Studenti) (Fanciulle) (Borghesi)
Manon Lescaut: Act 1: 'L'amor? . . . l'amor?!' (Des Grieux) (Edmondo) (Studenti)
Manon Lescaut: Act 1: 'Tra voi, belle, brune e bionde' (Des Grieux) (Edmondo) (Studenti)
Manon Lescaut: Act 1: 'Ma bravo!' (Edmondo) (Studenti) (Fanciulle) (Borghesi)
Manon Lescaut: Act 1: 'Discendono, vediam!' (Borghesi) (Edmondo) (Studenti) (Lescaut) (Oste) (Des Grieux) (Geronte)
Manon Lescaut: Act 1: 'Cortese damigella' (Des Grieux) (Manon) (Lescaut)
Manon Lescaut: Act 1: 'Donna non vidi mai' (Des Grieux)
Manon Lescaut: Act 1: 'La tua ventura ci rassicura' (Edmondo) (Studenti) (Fanciulle) (Geronte) (Lescaut) (Borghesi) (Oste)
Manon Lescaut: Act 1: 'La tua Proserpina' (Edmondo) (Des Grieux)
Manon Lescaut: Act 1: 'Vedete? Io son fedele' (Manon) (Des Grieux)
Manon Lescaut: Act 1: 'Non c'e piu vino?' (Lescaut) (Des Grieux) (Manon) (Edmondo) (Geronte) (Oste)
Manon Lescaut: Act 1: 'Cavalli pronti avete?' (Lescaut) (Geronte) (Edmondo) (Studenti)
Manon Lescaut: Act 2: 'Dispettosetto questo riccio' (Manon) (Lescaut)
Manon Lescaut: Act 2: 'In quelle trine morbide' (Manon)
Manon Lescaut: Act 2: 'Poiche tu vuoi saper' (Lescaut) (Manon)
Manon Lescaut: Act 2: 'Che ceffi son costor?' -- 'Sulla vetta tu del monte' (Madrigale) (Lescaut) (Manon) (un Musico) (Coro)
Manon Lescaut: Act 2: 'Paga costor!' (Manon) (Lescaut)
Manon Lescaut: Act 2: 'Vi prego, signorina' (Minuetto) (Maestro di ballo) (Geronte) (Manon) (Signori) (Abati)

Tracks:

Manon Lescaut: Act 2: 'Oh, saro la piu bella!' -- 'Tu, tu, amore? Tu?!' (Manon) (Des Grieux)
Manon Lescaut: Act 2: 'Ah!' - 'Affe, madamigella' (Manon) (Geronte) (Des Grieux)
Manon Lescaut: Act 2: 'Ah! ah! . . . Liberi!' (Manon) (Des Grieux)
Manon Lescaut: Act 2: 'Lescaut?!' - 'Tu qui?!' (Des Grieux) (Manon) (Lescaut) (Sergente) (Geronte)
Manon Lescaut: Act 2: Intermezzo
Manon Lescaut: Act 3: 'Ansia eterna, crudel' (Des Grieux) (Lescaut) (Manon)
Manon Lescaut: Act 3: '. . . Kate rispose al Re' (Lampionaio) (Des Grieux) (Manon)
Manon Lescaut: Act 3: 'Manon, disperato e il mio prego!' (Des Grieux) (Manon)
Manon Lescaut: Act 3: 'All'armi! All'armi!' (Voci) (Lescaut) (Des Grieux) (Manon) (Borghesi) (Popolani) (Sergente) (Comandante)
Manon Lescaut: Act 3: 'Rosetta!' - 'Eh! Che aria!' (Sergente) (Borghesi) (Popolani) (Lescaut) (Manon) (Des Grieux)
Manon Lescaut: Act 3: 'Presto! In fila!' (Sergente) (Des Grieux) (Borghesi) (Comandante)
Manon Lescaut: Act 4: 'Tutta su me ti posa' (Des Grieux) (Manon)
Manon Lescaut: Act 4: 'Manon, senti, amor mio . . . Vedi, son io che piango' (Des Grieux)
Manon Lescaut: Act 4: 'Sei tu che piangi?' (Manon) (Des Grieux)
Manon Lescaut: Act 4: 'Sola, perduta, abbandonata' (Manon)
Manon Lescaut: Act 4: 'Fra le tue braccia amore' (Manon) (Des Grieux)

Amazon.com

Puccini struggled especially hard with the birth of Manon Lescaut, his first triumph, and--for all its flaws--his first real masterpiece. There's no question that the compassion he felt for the confused and ultimately doomed heroine of Abbé Prévost's 18th-century novel generated the kind of intensity he brought to Mimi or Tosca. Puccini's desire to surpass Massenet's famous version inspired him to break the mold and point to an excitingly new kind of music theater--even if he drove a whole bevy of librettists mad in the process and never solved the problem of the story's climax. This live performance from June 1998 at La Scala is clearly banking on the star power of José Cura, who indeed makes his memorable mark on des Grieux. It's exactly the kind of role to absorb Cura's drawbacks (his moments of insecurity and odd phrasings) and let his strengths shine, and Cura uses his wonderfully dark, ardent tenor to embody des Grieux in all his helpless passion. As the title heroine, Maria Guleghina can be exasperatingly supercharged and blowsy one moment, beguiling the next. She's not all that convincing at the character's frantic mood shifts, but is emotionally gripping in her bleak final monologue. Riccardo Muti is less uptight than usual in the pit and throws welcome light on the score's notable symphonic depth, bringing a sense of coherency to Puccini's not-quite-perfected vision. Some moments of frazzled string ensemble aside, the band plays beautifully; it's melting in the third-act tableau and italicizes all the Tristan-ish moments with passion. --Thomas May

Customer Reviews:

A VERY GOOD live Manon Lescaut.......2002-02-04

This is a record that has a lot of very different ratings by pro opera rewievers. Some rank it very good/high and others nearly rank it as a very bad performance/record (you could see what I mean by reading Amazon eds rew. and Penguin guides above).

I rank this set very high. In my opinion Muti, La Scala choir and orchestra performed excellent. Muti and his La Scala choir and orchestra do this Manon Lescaut with passion and warmth in this LIVE version from La Scala, Milan and Muti is in my opinion a very good, solid (Italian) conductor (famous).

Jose Cura is one of the great singers in our time, in the tradition of Domingo, and he show us why he is a great singer after a couple of minutes.

Maria Guleghina sings almost nearly perfect and she really shines like a superstar in act four.

The others have some small minors sometimes but also some great moments and I focus on that (the minors dont ruin this opera as they sometimes do in other records).

This is a LIVE set but coughs and so on occurs only a couple of times. You could sometimes imagine footsteps and so on (stage noises) but that is something giving you a, in this case a charming live feeling.

Beutiful sound and a very nice, informative libretto booklet, make this set a must have for Puccini fans.

Very Promising!.......2000-12-24

I was about to rate this version of Manon Lescaut with 3stars but I do not want to be among those who always convict new opera singers just because they don't sound like singers from the 50s or 60s or even 70s. Jose Cura and Maria Guleghina are both really nice, fresh singers and their recording of Manon Lescaut, Puccini's first success, is a proof of that.

Guleghina skillfully sings "in quelle trine morbide" as well as the most of the other parts of the opera while Cura performs a moving Des Grieux. He really has a rich, dark and enchanting tenor voice. None of them ever rivals the legendary 1954 ((P)1960) recording of the roles with Renata Tebaldi and Mario del Monaco but will anyone? It's perhaps useless to seek successors of such grand interpreters and it's much better to enjoy what the new generation, the new era has to offer us. Both Cura and Guleghina have a bright future in front of them and surely deserve it too! This is an important recording of Puccini's masterpiece that is worth buying.

Sparks fly as stars ignite La Scala.......2000-07-18

Manon Lescaut, Puccini's first big hit, has an admirable recording history, and this new release is a worthy addition to the ranks. Certainly, the piece is flawed - the Boheme-like bustle of Act 1 gives way to the meatier Act 2, where all the important action (and some not-so-important) takes place; thereafter there the tragedy races preciptously to its sun-scorched conclusion in the Louisiana desert. Massenet's version may capture better the brittleness of Manon's world and the enigmatic nature of its central character, but Puccini wins hands down in the passion stakes. The music is full of life and invention, tantalisingly foreshadowing most of the composer's later work, and the love music is as explosive and hot-blooded as much of what preceded and followed in Italian opera.

This recording is taken from live performances at La Scala in 1998. Muti's conducting is really excellent, capturing the broad sweep of the work and much of the detail. However, the set's main attraction is its leading couple. Jose Cura and Maria Guleghina look wonderful in the accompanying photographs - it's hard to imagine a better looking soprano and tenor able to sing these roles today. Guleghina is hardly a natural coquette, which means that Acts 1 and 2 suffer a little (her request for the hair curlers sounds decidedly Tosca-like) but what a vibrant and exciting voice this is! Some flat high Bs aside, she brings to Manon's arching phrases a real Puccinian "lift" and spares nothing in the last act monologue. The effect of her singing in the theatre must have been overwhelming. Cura, too, gives his considerable all. His voice, dark, woody undertones and all, sounds at times like the answer to everyone's prayers for a new Domingo - yet he infuriates too with moments of tightness and loss of support. But in his duets with Guleghina - and particularly in the last act - he is absolutely splendid. Lucio Gallo is suitably sleazy as Manon's brother, bringing verbal piquancy and burnished sound to the Act 2 duet; the supporting cast is admirable.

The set has stiff competition - Freni and Pavarotti (with Bartoli, no less, as the madrigal singer!), and Te Kanawa and Carreras, to name but two. For the frisson of live performance, and for sheer electricity, however, it is very much worth having - an admirable addition to any Puccini collection.

BRAVO ! BRAVO! BRAVO!.......2000-06-09

I cannot get enough of Jose Cura's voice in Manon.

His voice is electrifying, thrilling, tender, and oh so passionate. The sound quality of this live recording is superb. Guleghina is also excellent.

When is this going to be released on DVD? Please, please more live recordings of Jose Cura!

Highly recommended.

Puccini's "dark" lovers?.......2000-05-02

This recording of Puccini's first mature opera features two voices of proportions perhaps not ideally suited to their roles. As Manon, soprano Maria Guleghina exhibits a gloriously powerful voice of dramatic proportions (where are her recordings of Tosca and Santuzza?), strong throughout the range and thrilling at the top. The top C in her Act II duet with her brother is brilliantly rendered, and surprisingly well-recorded. Guleghina obviously has a good grasp of Manon's character, although (like Callas) she portrays the heroine of Prevost's novella perhaps more than that of Puccini's opera. As others have noted, her "Sola, abbandonata" monologue in the final act is beautifully and movingly sung--a rare accomplishment. In technical and dramatic means, she obliterates all other Manons except Renata Tebaldi and Callas. As des Grieux, Jose Cura contributes a good amount of high-octane singing. His voice is an awkward combination of raw power and certain intonation. What he lacks, in this recording, is an affinity for Puccinian elegance. Des Griuex is, after all, a young Frenchman of respectable birth. Cura's des Griuex is very much in the manner of Mario del Monaco: that is to say that it is well sung and compellingly acted through the voice alone, but the listener is left wondering how a sophiticated, worldly girl like Manon could have been captivated by such a brutish, bullying lad. Lucio Gallo tries to make something of the thankless role of Lescaut--it is, naturally, a pleasure to hear a major voice in this role. Luigi Roni fits his "Commendatore" voice well into the role of Geronte. All in all, this is a recording worth hearing for Guleghina's and Cura's raw power--even if not ideal, their passion is admirable.

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