Puccini: Manon Lescaut - Guleghina, Cura, Gallo [Muti] [2 CD]

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Puccini: Manon Lescaut - Guleghina, Cura, Gallo [Muti] [2 CD]

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Antoine-François Prévost's novel, L'Histoire du chevalier des Grieux et de Manon Lescaut (later shortened to Manon Lescaut), inspired several musical settings, the most famous of which are those of Massenet and Puccini, the latter rationalizing his use of the story only nine years after Massenet by saying, "A woman like Manon can have more than one lover." The question of which is the better opera, Manon (1884) or Manon Lescaut (1893), has been a popular topic among operaphiles ever since. I read the Abbé Prévost's novel years ago, and, without wishing to ignite any debate, I do believe that, whatever else one might say in comparing the operas, Puccini's music suggests the restless passions of the hero and heroine in a way that Massenet's more polite, elegant music cannot do. Basically, Des Grieux is a good boy gone wrong, his behavior impelled by his infatuation with a gold digger who sincerely loves him but cannot resist the glitter of jewelry and the comforts of luxury. Although it has never achieved the popularity of Puccini's "big three," La Bohème, Tosca, and Madama Butterfly, Manon Lescaut is a welcome visitor in the world's opera houses, its profusion of melody and intense emotion continuing to excite audiences, especially when it is produced with good singers in the major roles and a conductor who appreciates what one might call its "symphonic" style . . . in other words, the kind of performances it was getting at La Scala in June 1998, superbly captured by Deutsche Grammophon on this recording. Opera buffs are always complaining about how difficult it is to cast Verdi, Wagner, and verismo operas nowadays, a complaint with which I tend to sympathize. Back in, say, the 60s, there seemed to be more suitable voices available. This isn't just a nostalgic whine about the good old days; one can hear Handel, Mozart, and Rossini performances nowadays that were almost inconceivable 40 years ago. Anyway, call it a throwback if you must, but this recording of Manon Lescaut is at least the equal of any I have ever heard, and I have heard them all (the nonpirate ones, that is), except for Maazel's, which doesn't look like much of a threat on paper.

In Maria Guleghina, we have a singer who easily conveys Manon's girlish, careless impetu-ousness but can rise to the melancholy fatalism of the final act. It is probably tempting to cast a light, lyric soprano in the role, but as the opera proceeds her music requires a larger, more dramatic voice and manner. Mirella Freni, not one of nature's Manon Lescauts, succeeds on two recordings because she sings "big" even though moments like the impassioned act II love duet fall short of what they can be with a larger voice. Guleghina has it both ways: She can restrain her voice when it is appropriate (say, in the conversational moments of act I and the first half of act II) and still cut loose when power is needed. She also makes a nice "Western" sound, not the "throaty" sort put forth by most Slavic sopranos (a taste I never acquired). She may not ravish some lines like, say, Tebaldi, and she may fall short of a few nuances brought out by Albanese, Callas, or Freni, but she's a highly satisfying singer here, and she is partnered by a splendid Des Grieux, José Cura, a bit sluggish of voice in the first act, but he warms up fast. What can I say? Allowing for personal taste, I find his dark voice has enough ring to make it exciting, and he knows just how far he can stretch the character's lachrymose side without weakening him. One might slightly prefer the brilliance of Björling, the careless chann of di Stefano, the impressive, controlled passion of Domingo, all of them superb in the role, but he can be compared with them, and a few listeners may even prefer him . . . he's that good. In the supporting roles of Lescaut (Manon's brother) and Geronte (a wealthy admirer) are Lucio Gallo and Luigi Roni, both of them contributing sharply drawn characters.

In Riccardo Muti, the score finds a nearly ideal exponent. I have sometimes caviled about what I perceived as rigidity and pedantry in his approach to music, but I certainly won't do that here: His conducting is as supple and expressive as one could wish for, and the orchestra plays most warmly. The chorus is good too. The producer has managed to effect a just balance between stage and pit, and there's minimal stage noise. In fact, there's minimal audience noise as well. That the La Scala audience could sit on its hands and stifle its cheers through such a performance as this one is amazing; Muti must have them well trained or quite intimidated. The annotations are in English only, and the libretto is just Italian-English, thus sparing us a thick booklet. I won't quarrel too hard with anyone who prefers Callas-di Stefano-Serafin (though it's mono, and Callas can't really dominate in the role the way she does in others—it isn't complex enough), Freni-Domingo-Sinopoli (though the orchestra is a notch too loud), or even Freni-Pavarotti-Levine (though the "in-your-face" vocal perspective, probably adopted to accommodate Pavarotti 's lack of power, becomes annoying, and Freni, though she finds a world of nuance in the role, is too far past her prime to fake the "big" parts. It has an impressive supporting cast). On her old London recording, Renata Tebaldi is quite comfortable— perhaps too much so—as Manon Lescaut, but Mario del Monaco is a crude, stentorian Des Grieux. Jussi Björling's Des Grieux is terrific, and Jonel Perlea has the measure of the music on an old RCA Victor set; but Licia Albanese, who does so many little things beautifully, is simply too small for the role and, actually, a bit too old-sounding as well. Francesco Merli's contribution to an old Lorenzo Molajoli 78 is of solid quality, but, other than his Des Grieux, the performance and, of course, the recorded sound are nothing special. There are minor compliments I could throw at the other commercial recordings, but they aren't really competitive, and, for that matter, are mostly unavailable anyway. If you have no other recording of the opera, I think that this new Deutsche Grammophon release is the best all-around version, and it will probably appear on my Want List at the end of the year.

– James Miller, FANFARE [9/2000]