The young tenor, who was a winner of the 2007 National Council Awards, had a huge promise from the start. His outcry of pain as he is ready to renounce the world for the priesthood almost has the power of Werther's "Pourquoi me réveiller" in Massenet's treatment of Goethe's hero– especially in the San Francisco production, sung by thirty-three year-old tenor Michael Fabiano.įabiano's striking talent has been recognized by SF Opera early on, and he has been engaged to sing increasingly demanding roles, most recently Don Carlos in his role debut. To Des Grieux and his bitter grief over Manon's betrayal. Most dramatic urgency is given by the composer Set in the early 18th century, her psychology seems a mystery to Massenet and his librettist, but the music beautifully evokes Manon's pretty, superficial pleasures and illusions, and the driven quality of her seduction, rendered with brio by conductor Patrick Fournailler.There are jolly crowd and gambling scenes that remind one of another wayward heroine, Verdi's La Traviata, and there is another stern father, Conte des Grieux, who tries in vain to save his son from the clutches of his obsession. Now that San Francisco Opera has proposed a new production of Massenet's Manon, I had my usual trouble with the obsessive male point of view that can't explain why Manon would tire so fast of her glorious success as a courtesan that at the drop of a hat, she has to pursue and re-possess her first pet lover, Des Grieux. Full disclosure: I am not a big fan of either composition, nor of the treatment given to the pleasure-hungry ingénue who jilts her first lover, Des Grieux, gets corrupted and corrupts him as well, becomes an outcast and dies from her steep fall from grace. Her story, originally a sentimental novel by Abbé Prévost ( Manon Lescaut), has added two showcases to the classic operatic repertoire, one by Massenet (1882), the other by Puccini (1892). A femme fatale who gets her comeuppance has always been a favorite theme in opera (Carmen, Salome, etc.), but only one has had the privilege of being punished twice.
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