Manon Lescaut (Auber)
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''Manon Lescaut'' is an opera or
opéra comique ''Opéra comique'' (; plural: ''opéras comiques'') is a genre of French opera that contains spoken dialogue and arias. It emerged from the popular ''opéras comiques en vaudevilles'' of the Théâtre de la foire, Fair Theatres of St Germain and S ...
in three acts by
Daniel Auber Daniel-François-Esprit Auber (; 29 January 178212 May 1871) was a French composer and director of the Paris Conservatoire. Born into an artistic family, Auber was at first an amateur composer before he took up writing operas professionally whe ...
to a
libretto A libretto (From the Italian word , ) is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or Musical theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to th ...
by
Eugène Scribe Augustin Eugène Scribe (; 24 December 179120 February 1861) was a French dramatist and librettist. He is known for writing "well-made plays" ("pièces bien faites"), a mainstay of popular theatre for over 100 years, and as the librettist of man ...
, and, like Puccini's ''
Manon Lescaut ''The Story of the Chevalier des Grieux and Manon Lescaut'' ( ) is a novel by Antoine François Prévost. It tells a tragic love story about a nobleman (known only as the Chevalier des Grieux) and a common woman (Manon Lescaut). Their decisio ...
'' and Massenet's ''
Manon ''Manon'' () is an ''opéra comique'' in five acts by Jules Massenet to a French libretto by Henri Meilhac and Philippe Gille, based on the 1731 novel '' L'histoire du chevalier des Grieux et de Manon Lescaut'' by the Abbé Prévost. It was f ...
'', is based on Abbé Prévost's novel ''
Manon Lescaut ''The Story of the Chevalier des Grieux and Manon Lescaut'' ( ) is a novel by Antoine François Prévost. It tells a tragic love story about a nobleman (known only as the Chevalier des Grieux) and a common woman (Manon Lescaut). Their decisio ...
'' (1731). Auber's version is nowadays the least-performed of the three.


Performance history

The opera was premiered on 23 February 1856 by the
Opéra-Comique The Opéra-Comique () is a Paris opera company which was founded around 1714 by some of the popular Théâtre de la foire, theatres of the Parisian fairs. In 1762 the company was merged with – and for a time took the name of – its chief riva ...
at the second Salle Favart in Paris. It was the first work to be staged by that company that did not have a happy ending, with the death of the heroine on stage pre-dating Bizet's ''
Carmen ''Carmen'' () is an opera in four acts by the French composer Georges Bizet. The libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. The opera was first performed by the O ...
'' of 1875. It was staged in
Liège Liège ( ; ; ; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality of Wallonia, and the capital of the Liège Province, province of Liège, Belgium. The city is situated in the valley of the Meuse, in the east o ...
in 1875, revived at the Opéra-Comique in 1882, and regularly performed in Germany as well as France. However, since the dawn of the twentieth century stagings have become something of a rarity. It was staged at the
Teatro Filarmonico The Teatro Filarmonico is the main Opera house, opera theater in Verona, Italy, and is one of the leading opera houses in Europe. The Teatro Filarmonico is property of the Accademia Filarmonica di Verona. Having been built in 1716, and later reb ...
, Verona in 1984 with
Mariella Devia Mariella Devia (born 12 April 1948) is an Italian operatic soprano. After beginning her career as a lyric coloratura soprano, in the finale part of it she also enjoyed considerable success with some of the most dramatic roles in the bel canto re ...
as Manon. In 1990, a production by the Théâtre Impérial de Compiègne was staged at the Opéra-Comique with the Orchestre Régional de Picardie 'La Sinfonietta' conducted by
Patrick Fournillier Patrick Fournillier (born 26 December 1954 in Neuilly-sur-Seine) is a French conductor, particularly associated with opera and with the works of Jules Massenet. He studied in Paris with Louis Fourestier and Pierre Dervaux, then in Strasbourg ...
with Elizabeth Vidal in the title role (her first principal role), Alain Gabriel,
René Massis René Massis is a French contemporary baritone. Biography Born in Lyon, Massis studied singing and lyrical art at the Conservatoire national supérieur musique et danse de Lyon, in addition to his university studies (modern letters) at the Fac ...
and André Cognet, directed by David Freeman; a video recording of a performance there that September was released by
Le Chant du Monde Le Chant du Monde was a French music publishing house. It was created in 1938 by Léon Moussinac and was supported in the beginning by classical composers Georges Auric, Arthur Honegger, Charles Koechlin, Darius Milhaud, Francis Poulenc, Alber ...
. It was produced at the Wexford Festival in October 2002, conducted by Jean-Luc Tingaud, and featured
Ermonela Jaho Ermonela Jaho (born July 18, 1974) is an Albanian operatic soprano. She was described in ''The Economist'' as "the world’s most acclaimed soprano". The ''Financial Times'' said "Ermonela Jaho throws heart and soul into her singing... Don't eve ...
as Marguerite. In North America, the opera was performed in 2006 by the Lyric Opera of Los Angeles at the Los Angeles Theatre. In October 2024, the opera was performed alongside its famous companion pieces by Massenet and Puccini at the Teatro Regio Turin in laternation over 21 days. It was conducted by Guillaume Tourniaire and directed as with the other two operas, by Arnaud Bernard.Pregliasco, Valeria. Report from Turin. ''Opera'', February 2025, Vol.76 No.2, p. 258-262.


Roles


Synopsis

The story only loosely resembles the original novel by Prévost (where, for instance, Lescaut is Manon's brother, not her cousin). There is one character – the Marquis d'Herigny – who represents the several wealthy suitors that Manon became involved with in the novel. Some other characters are absent entirely, and others are completely new to this telling of the story.


Music

The role of Manon Lescaut is a demanding one, with a very high
tessitura In music, tessitura ( , , ; ; ) is the most acceptable and comfortable vocal range for a given singer (or, less frequently, musical instrument). It is the range in which a given type of voice presents its best-sounding (or characteristic) tim ...
, extended florid passages and
aria In music, an aria (, ; : , ; ''arias'' in common usage; diminutive form: arietta, ; : ariette; in English simply air (music), air) is a self-contained piece for one voice, with or without instrument (music), instrumental or orchestral accompan ...
s of outstanding technical difficulty. Nonetheless, it also presents great opportunities for characterisation and (at least before the appearance of the operas on the same subject by Puccini and Massenet) was one of the staples of the operatic repertoire – not only in France, but also in Germany. The role of the Marquis d'Herigny, written for the famous baritone,
Jean-Baptiste Faure Jean-Baptiste Faure (; 15 January 1830 – 9 November 1914) was a French operatic baritone and art collector who also composed several classical songs. Singing career Faure was born in Moulins. A choirboy in his youth, he entered the Paris ...
, also features several significant solos; but the tenor role of Des Grieux (given two major arias by Massenet and three by Puccini) lacks a major solo, although the character does participate in a series of fine duets, notably at the death of Manon near the end of the opera. One number in the score has retained its popularity with coloratura sopranos. This is Manon's solo, "", also known as "" or the "Laughing Song". It is not a free-standing aria – in fact, it forms part of the act 1 finale – but ever since its creation it has been a chosen showcase for the technique of singers such as
Adelina Patti Adelina Patti (19 February 184327 September 1919) was a Spanish-Italian opera singer. At the height of her career, she was earning huge fees performing in the music capitals of Europe and America. She first sang in public as a child in 1851, a ...
(who sang it during the lesson scene in ''
The Barber of Seville ''The Barber of Seville, or The Useless Precaution'' ( ) is an ''opera buffa'' (comic opera) in two acts composed by Gioachino Rossini with an Italian libretto by Cesare Sterbini. The libretto was based on Pierre Beaumarchais's French comedy ' ...
''),
Amelita Galli-Curci Amelita Galli-Curci (18 November 1882 – 26 November 1963) was an Italian lyric coloratura soprano. She was one of the most famous operatic singers of the 20th century and a popular recording artist, with her records selling in large numbe ...
,
Joan Sutherland Dame Joan Alston Sutherland, (7 November 1926 – 10 October 2010) was an Australian dramatic coloratura soprano known for her contribution to the renaissance of the bel canto repertoire from the late 1950s to the 1980s. She possessed a voice ...
and
Edita Gruberová Edita Gruberová (; 23 December 1946 – 18 October 2021) was a Slovak coloratura soprano. She made her stage debut in Bratislava in 1968 as Rosina in Rossini's '' Il barbiere di Siviglia'', and successfully auditioned at the Vienna State Oper ...
.


Recordings

* ''Manon Lescaut'' –
Mady Mesplé Mady Mesplé (7 March 1931 – 30 May 2020) was a French opera singer who was considered the leading coloratura soprano of her generation in France, and sometimes heralded as the successor to Mado Robin, with ''Lakmé'' by Delibes becoming her si ...
, Jean-Claude Orliac, , Yves Bisson – Choeurs et orchestre lyrique de Radio France, Jean-Pierre Marty (conductor) –
EMI EMI Group Limited (formerly EMI Group plc until 2007; originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At t ...
(recorded in October 1974). * ''Manon Lescaut'' – Elizabeth Vidal, Alain Gabriel,
René Massis René Massis is a French contemporary baritone. Biography Born in Lyon, Massis studied singing and lyrical art at the Conservatoire national supérieur musique et danse de Lyon, in addition to his university studies (modern letters) at the Fac ...
– Les Choeurs du Théâtre Français de la Musique, the Orchestre Régional de Picardie Le Sinfonietta,
Patrick Fournillier Patrick Fournillier (born 26 December 1954 in Neuilly-sur-Seine) is a French conductor, particularly associated with opera and with the works of Jules Massenet. He studied in Paris with Louis Fourestier and Pierre Dervaux, then in Strasbourg ...
(conductor) – Le Chant du Monde (recorded live in 1990, released in 1991).


References

Notes


External links

* *,
Joan Sutherland Dame Joan Alston Sutherland, (7 November 1926 – 10 October 2010) was an Australian dramatic coloratura soprano known for her contribution to the renaissance of the bel canto repertoire from the late 1950s to the 1980s. She possessed a voice ...
(audio) *, Elizabeth Vidal (staged) {{authority control Adaptations of works by Antoine François Prévost French-language operas Opéras comiques Operas by Daniel Auber Operas 1856 operas Opera world premieres at the Opéra-Comique Operas based on novels Libretti by Eugène Scribe