Manon Lescaut

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Music By -- Giacomo Puccini, English Version By -- Walter Ducloux

Published By -- Franco Colombo Inc., 1965, New York, Staple-Bound, Libretto text side by side in English and Italian on each page, No musical notation, 61 Pages, 10.5" X 6.75" X .2", 5 oz., Metropolitan Opera NY 2443

[EXCERPTED FROM FRONT MATTER]

The plot of the opera named after her is based on Abbé Prévost's "The Story of the Chevalier Des Grieux and of Manon Lescaut," a sprawling novel of manners and morals first published in Paris in 1731. It is a classic tale of juvenile delinquency in an 18th century setting, dealing with the dis- integration of a well-brought-up young man in love with a teen-age girl unable to resist the temptations of the big city.(...)

"Manon Lescaut" was first performed at the Teatro Regio in Turin on February 1, 1893. The composer's cautious optimism was more than justified by a highly favorable reception. The following year it reached Covent Garden and the United States, where it was first given in Philadelphia, while New York did not hear it until 1898. The first performance at the Metropolitan Opera took place in 1907 with a cast including Liha Cavalieri, Caruso and Scotti, A Metropolitan production in 1912 served to introduce one of the most beloved among many notable interpreters of the title-role: Lucrezia Bori.

The first performance of this translation was given by the University of Southern California Opera Theatre in 1958, on the occasion of the composer's 100th anniversary.

For a while public preference seems to have see-sawed between the opera of Massenet and that of Puccini. (...) Whereas Massenet evokes the French 18th century atmosphere of the setting with consummate skill, Puccini treats the story as a human tragedy which could happen anywhere, at any time. Fortunately for us, we do not have to make a choice.

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