Manon Lescaut | Daniel François Esprit Auber
From the 1830s to 1850s, Daniel Auber and his librettist Eugène Scribe were true superstars of French opéra comique. The secret to their success? Stories in which the characters fumble their way through growing adversity, aided by incredible plot twists and turns, set to light-hearted music marked by irresistible melodies. One of the pair’s most enduring successes was their 1856 opera Manon Lescaut, based on the novel by the Abbé Prévost.
As the prurient elements of the story made it unsuitable for the respectable audiences of mid-nineteenth century theatres, Scribe transformed Manon into a frivolous young woman, who sincerely falls in love with Des Grieux but has the misfortune to always find herself in the wrong place at the wrong time. Manon’s part was written for a coloratura soprano with the bravura to deliver “C’est l’histoire amoureuse,” renowned as the “éclat de rire,” or laughing aria, for it sharp, shrill laughs. The opera and the original novel converge only in their endings, where Manon is deported and dies of hardship in a wasteland—never before had an opéra comique featured such a tragic conclusion.
Manon Lescaut soprano - Rocío Pérez / Marie-Eve Munger (19, 24)
Il marchese d’Hérigny baritone - Armando Noguera / Gurgen Buveyan (19, 24)
Lescaut bass - Francesco Salvadori
Des Grieux tenor - Sébastien Guèze / Marco Ciaponi (19, 24)
Madame Bancelin countertenor - Manuela Custer
Renaud baritone - Guillaume Andrieux
Marguerite soprano - Lamia Beuque
Gervais tenor - Anicio Zorzi Giustiniani
Monsieur Durozeau bass - Paolo Battaglia
Conductor - Guillaume Tourniaire
Direction - Arnaud Bernard
Scenes - Alessandro Camera
Costumes - Carla Ricotti
Lights - Fiammetta Baldiserri
Direction assistant - Yamal Das Irmich
Choir master - Ulisse Trabacchin
Orchestra and Choir Teatro Regio Torino
New production Teatro Regio Torino
Opéra comique in three acts
Performances
Munger, Buveyan, Salvadori, Ciaponi, Custer
Munger, Buveyan, Salvadori, Ciaponi, Custer