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Manon Lescaut, a Victorian more “prudish” account! Torino
Teatro Regio
10/17/2024 - & October 19, 22, 24, 27* 2024
Daniel-François-Esprit Auber: Manon Lescaut
Rocío Pérez*/(Manon Lescaut), Armando Noguera (Marquis d’Hérigny), Sébastien Guèze*/(Des Grieux), Francesco Salvadori (Lescaut), Sabine Conzen (Marguerite), Manuela Custer (Madame Bancelin), Anicio Zorzi Giustiniani (Gervais), Guillaume Andrieux (Renaud)
Coro del Teatro Regio, Ulisse Trabacchin (Chorus Master), Orchestra del Teatro Regio, Guillaume Tourniaire (Conductor)
Arnaud Bernard (Stage Director), Marina Bianchi (Sets), Alessandro Camera (Costumes), Fiammetta Baldiserri (Lighting), Carlo Ricotti (Choreography), Marcello Alongi (Videography)
R. Pérez (© Daniele Ratti)
This is the third of a trilogy of operas having as their theme the tragic travails of one Manon Lescaut. While the first two, Massenet’s Manon (1884) and Puccini’s Manon Lescaut (1893) are certainly familiar to aficionados, this one likely isn’t. Rarely performed even in French‑speaking countries, this is the first production of Auber’s opera in Italy in over a century.
Daniel-François-Esprit Auber (1782‑1871) was Paris’s star composer of the time, following the reign of post‑Revolution composers François-Adrien Boieldieu (1775‑1834) and André Grétry (1741‑1813). Auber’s musical style evolved from the two, but it’s also informed by Mozart and bel canto. In his Manon Lescaut, we hear melodies evocative of Donizetti as well. I recognized melodies from Le nozze di Figaro (“Corriam tutti” in Act IV), Così fan tutte and Die Zauberflöte (“Das klinget so herrlich, das klinget so schön” in Act I). Despite his lack of originality, Auber was a prolific “superstar” composer, and his operas were among the most popular of their time in France and beyond. Some of his best known are La Muette de Portici, ou Masaniello (1828), Fra Diavolo (1830), Gustave III ou Le Bal masque (1833), Le Cheval de bronze (1835), Le Domino noir (1837), Les Diamants de la couronne (1841), and the work at hand. It’s alleged that following a performance of his La Muette de Portici in Brussels in 1830, an anti‑Dutch riot erupted, leading to the independence of Belgium.
The heroine of Abbé Prévost’s novel, Histoire du Chevalier Des Grieux et de Manon Lescaut (1731) has long been a source for artistic inspiration in opera as well as cinema. Massenet and Puccini’s treatment of the novel is more dramatically compact than the original novel. In the novel, Des Grieux is much more dissolute than in their operas. He makes a living by cheating gamblers and by borrowing money from friends. In Massenet’s treatment, Manon dies in France before being deported to Louisiana. In Puccini’s take, Manon dies of exhaustion in the desert after the crossing, though we never know how she and Des Grieux ended up there. In the novel, Manon is deported for prostitution and lives an idyllic life with Des Grieux in the New World. When the unmarried couple ask the Governor of Louisiana to wed, his nephew is determined to have Manon for himself. A fight ensues, and Des Grieux, believing to have killed him, escapes with Manon from New Orleans to the wilderness where Manon dies.
Dramatically, Auber’s Manon Lescaut is infinitely weaker than Puccini’s or Massenet’s. Act I mostly elaborates on Manon’s charm and capriciousness. Act II shows her yielding to the Marquis d’Hérigny, the colonel of her beau’s regiment, who tempts her with jewelry, clothing and a life of opulence. Before enjoying his new conquest, the Marquis is shot by the impetuous Des Grieux. This prudish Manon is the product of the Victorian values of the day and the overly bourgeois mindset of Napoleon III’s Second Empire. Auber’s Manon is no prostitute or even the Marquis’s mistress. She is deported thanks to her association with Des Grieux, a murderer. Such are the values of the day. In Act III, the deported lovers – she for prostitution and he for murder – escape the advancing Inspector Renaud into the wilderness, where the exhausted Manon expires, but not before marrying before God and repenting for their dissolute lives. In a finale evocative of the finale of Gounod’s Faust (1859), a saccharine chorus of angels receives Manon’s soul “Morte! Dans un doux rêve qu’amour achève, son cœur s’élève vers l’Eternel!”
French director Arnaud Bernard directs all three versions of Manon for Turin’s Teatro Regio. He uses cinema as a backdrop for all three. His staging of Puccini’s version for Turin was appealing. His staging of Auber’s was even more successful, though he resorted to the same idea of a “play within a play” that he used in the insipid staging of Adelaide di Borgogna at the ici of the Rossini Opera Festival (ROF) in Pesaro.
Bernard resorted to cinematic excerpts from a glorious silent film, Alan Crosland’s When a man loves a woman (1927) with John Barrymore and Dolores Costello, based on Prévost’s novel. He used the French version, i.e. one with the projected titles en français to suit the mood. Unlike the cinematic interventions in Puccini’s opera, the long segments from the silent film are shown during the overture and other orchestral excerpts, and thus do not distract. Moreover, the whole production is presented as the making of the 1927 film. The central part of the stage is where the opera takes place. On the side, the actors and technical staff are busy preparing the following scenes or cavorting.
The cast for Auber’s Manon Lescaut was dominated by the heroine herself, who’s featured in several brilliant arias, duets and ensembles. Des Grieux has no solo arias, though he shines in his duets with Manon. Lescaut and Marquis d’Hérigny are more acting than singing roles. A new charming character is invented by Auber to suit the epoch’s taste. She is Marguerite, Manon’s neighbour and friend, a “good” girl whose advice goes unheeded. Belgian soprano Sabine Conzen was delightful in this role, exuding charm and charisma. Her voice was attractive and her diction outstanding. A shame she didn’t have more to sing.
Spanish soprano Rocío Pérez did justice to the demanding role of Manon. Vocally brilliant, the young soprano was up to the task. Her Act I aria, “Les dames de Versailles” revealed the dreamy nature of Manon and her appetite for life’s pleasures. The most famous aria from Auber’s opera is Act I’s “C’est l’histoire amoureuse”, a signature aria for coloraturas, known mostly for its “Eclat de rire” cabaletta. Pérez managed the stratospheric high notes with aplomb. She was moving in the finale in Act I’s “O douleur mortelle” and in the opera’s sanctimonious finale “ Comme un doux rêve”. Pérez was more impressive vocally than as an actress. For Manon, she wasn’t naughty enough. However, this shortcoming made her a more believable victim.
French tenor Sébastien Guèze was an astute choice as Des Grieux. His light lyric tenor was appealing, and his diction excellent. He brought life to the character thanks to his expressiveness and agility on stage. He was truly on mark for the opera’s emotional finale, “Errant depuis hier”.
Argentine baritone Armando Noguera is blessed with outstanding stage presence. He made the most of it for Act II’s “Je veux qu’ici vous soyez reine”, appealing to Manon’s frivolous nature. He easily embodied the Marquis’s noble rank thanks to his aristocratic deportment. For a non‑native, his French diction was excellent.
French conductor Guillaume Tourniaire showed his affinity for French music, even if Auber is not its best proponent. He managed to emphasize the elegance and effervescence of the score.
Despite a weak libretto and subpar music, this production of Auber’s Manon Lescaut was deemed by many Turinese opera goers to be the most interesting of the three Manons. There were more foreigners (mostly French, German and Dutch) present than at most Teatro Regio productions. Possibly, the rarity of Auber’s opera was the draw. The three leads, Guèze, Noguera and especially Pérez, were major reasons for the production’s success. Bernard’s inspired staging kept the public riveted, as if watching a sentimental film. Bravo!
Ossama el Naggar
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