Holland Park TheatreHolland Park, London, Greater London, W8 6LU, United Kingdom
Dates/times in London time zone
Festival: Opera Holland ParkProgramme
| Puccini, Giacomo (1858-1924) | Manon Lescaut | Libretto by Luigi Illica, Marco Praga, Domenico Oliva |
Performers
| Opera Holland Park | ||
| Peter Robinson | Conductor | |
| Karolina Sofulak | Director | |
| George Leigh | Set Designer, Costume Designer | |
| Opera Holland Park Chorus | ||
| City of London Sinfonia | ||
| Elizabeth Llewellyn | Soprano | Manon Lescaut |
| Peter Auty | Tenor | Chevalier des Grieux |
| Paul Carey Jones | Baritone | Lescaut |
| Stephen Richardson | Bass | Geronte di Ravoir |
| Stephen Aviss | Tenor | Edmondo |
| Ellie Edmonds | Mezzo-soprano | Musician |
Premiered in Turin in 1893, Puccini’s adaptation turned a sentimental narrative into an operatic sensation. Four episodes of ensnarement and escape trace the affair between Manon and Des Grieux from Amiens to Paris, and Le Havre to Louisiana, with a stunning intermezzo for strings. In the cruel and glorious opera that made Puccini’s name, a convent girl becomes a courtesan, then a convict, forever unable to choose between a life of luxury and a life of love.
