Juan Diego Flórez was impressive in his first portrayal of a lovesick soldier/priest in Manon, with Nino Machaidze's accomplished heroine. Andrei Serban's modern and thoughtful production was still fresh and arresting.
This production fell just short of brilliance but showed how relevant and thought-provoking opera as an art form can be when tapping into today's headline debates.
Aspiring Perth (WA) company Opera Box provides an enjoyable night at the opera, cementing their willingness to perform major mainstream works, challenging the dominance of the established companies and their less imaginative choices.
Patricia Petibon manages to portray an absolutely charming Manon. She spans the space between innocence and worldliness and remains consistently energetic and delightful.
Every opera poses an acting challenge to its prima donna, but Massenet’s Manon, whose 2010 production by Laurent Pelly started its first revival at Covent Garden last night, is particularly harsh on the singer of its title role. Ermonela Jaho rose to the task magnificently.
Manon was not only central to Jules Massenet’s claim to international celebrity after its creation in 1884, it remains at the heart of the operatic repertoire and Massenet’s popularity today. Manon returned to the stage of L’Opéra de Montréal on 18 May after a lengthy absence to close the company’s 2012/13 season.
Olivier Py propose une passionnante mise en scène de l'opéra de Massenet, malgré des excès évitables. Si Benjamin Bernheim et Nadine Sierra resplendissent, Marc Minkowski déçoit dans la fosse.
Naives Mädchen, berechnendes Luder, Vamp und Todgeweihte: Diana Damrau überzeugt als Manon in der ästhetischen und klugen Inszenierung von Andrei Serban.
Zwischen Duty-Free-Shop und Abflughalle siedelt Regisseur Elmar Goerden Massenets Oper an. Richtig abheben wollte der Abend trotz guter Einzelleistungen dennoch nicht.
