con passione disperata!! The most passionate Manon ever recorded!

Track Listing

Disc 1:

1. Act One: 'Ave, sera gentile' - Robert Gambill/Chor of the Royal Opr House/Nina Walker
2. Act One: 'L'amor? l'amor?' - Placido Domingo/Robert Gambill/Chor of the Royal Opr House/Nina Walker
3. Act One: 'Tra voi, belle, brune e bionde' - Placido Domingo/Robert Gambill/Chor of the Royal Opr House/Nina Walker
4. Act One: 'Ma bravo!' - Robert Gambill/Chor of the Royal Opr House/Nina Walker
5. Act One: 'Discendono, vediam!' - Robert Gambill/Renato Brusson/Placido Domingo/Chor of the Royal Opr House/Nina Walker
6. Act One: 'Cortese damigella' - Placido Domingo/Mirella Freni/Renato Bruson/George MachPherson
7. Act One: 'Donna non vidi mai' - Placido Domingo
8. Act One: 'La tua ventura ci rassicura' - Robert Gambill/Renato Bruson/George MacPherson/Chor of the Royal Opr House/Nina Walker
9. Act One: 'La tua Proserpina' - Robert Gambill/Placido Domingo
10. Act One: 'Vedete? Io son fedele' - Mirella Freni/Placido Domingo
11. Act One: 'Non c'e piu vino?' - Mirella Freni/Placido Domingo/
12. Act One: 'Cavalli pronti avete?' - Mirella Freni/Kurt Rydl/Roberrt Gambil/Chor of the Royal Opr House/Nina Walker
13. Act Two: 'Dispettosetto questo riccio!' - Mirella Freni/Renato Bruson
14. Act Two: 'In quelle trine morbide' - Mirella Freni
15. Act Two: 'Poiche tu vuoi saper' - Renato Bruson/Mirella Freni
16. Act Two: 'Che ceffi son costor?...Sulla vetta tu del monte' - Renato Bruson/Mirella Freni/Brigitte Fassbaender/Elizabeth Stanford/Iris Saunders/Elizabeth Sikor...
17. Act Two: 'Paga costor!' - Mirella Freni/Renato Bruson
18. Act Two: 'Vi prego, signorina (Minuetto)...L'ora, o Tirsi, e vaga e bella' - John Fryatt/Kurt Rydll/Mirella Freni/Chor of the Royal Opr House/Nina Walker

Disc 2:

1. Act Two: 'Oh, saro la piu bella!...Tu, tu, amore? Tu?' - Mirella Freni/Placido Domingo
2. Act Two: 'Ah!...Affe, madamigella' - Mirella Freni/Kurt Rydll/Placido Domingo
3. Act Two: 'Ah! ah! Liveri!...Ah! Manon, mi tradisce' - Mirella Freni/Placido Domingo
4. Act Two: 'Lescaut? Tu qui?' - Placido Domingo/Mirella Freni/Renato Bruson/Paschal Allen
5. Intermezzo - Intermezzo
6. Act Three: 'Ansia eterna, crudel' - Placido Domingo/Renato Bruson/Mirella Freni
7. Act Three: '...e Kate ripose al Re' - Mark Curtis/Placido Domingo/Mirella Freni
8. Act Three: 'Manon, disperato e il mio prego!' - Placido Domingo/Mirella Freni
9. Act Three: 'All'armi! All'armi!' - Briggte Fassabaender/Renato Bruson/Mirella Freni/Placido Domingo/Mirell Freni/Paschal Allen/...
10. Act Three: 'Rosetta!...Eh! Che aria!' - Paschal Allen/Renato Brusson/Mirella Freni/Placido Domingo/Chor of the Royal Opr House/Nina Walker
11. Act Three: 'Presto! In fila!...No! pazzo son!' - Handel Thomas/Placido Domingo/John Tomlinson/Chor of the Royal Opr House/Nina Walker
12. Act Four: 'Tutta su me ti posa' - Placido Domingo/Mirella Freni
13. Act Four: 'Manon, senti, amor mio...Vedi, son io che piango' - Placido Domingo
14. Act Four: 'Sei tu che piangi?' - Mirella Freni/Placido Domingo
15. Act Four: 'Sola, perduta, abbandonata' - Mirella Freni
16. Act Four: 'Fra le tue braccia, amore' - Mirella Freni/Placido Domingo

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #147422 in Music
• Released on: 1984-10-18
• Number of discs: 2
• Format: Import

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Customer Reviews

Not perfect yet, but still the best
There are not many Manon Lescaut good recordings available. Among those, only Levine (DECCA 92) and Serafin (EMI 57) get close to this one, which is arguably the best of them all. Technically perfect, Bruson's Lescaut is the best of the discography. First, his voice is of a great quality, and he uses it with experience and fantasy. You will barely hear such a perfect 'Sei splendida e lucente' like here, and few times you will ever listen to the phrasing of third act so perfectly sung like here, so precisely and with perfect accentuation. Freni and Domingo may not be the perfect couple, but each of them, in their own way, show very attractive approaches to their roles. Freni's sensuality and lirycism relates very well to the Manon of the first two acts. Also, her voice has no limits, and she actually makes no mistakes at all. However, in acts 3 and 4, we miss some tension, more depth of communication. Everything is very well put together, but her role has deeper meanings, as Calas, Olivero or Kabaivanska, other sopranos who interpreted this role, showed. Domingo is well known around the world because his Des Grieux role, joyful at the beginning, desperate at the end. His high pitch, one of Domingo's best qualities, is perfectly used in here. However, he lacks the sincere fire of Björling or Rucker. Sinopoli conducts in detail a very difficult music like this Puccini's opera, showing some genius moments. The orchestra sometimes is too much over the singers, but is overall a very well companion.
By the way, this $85 is an Import CD. I can't find it right now, but a couple of weeks ago I found the same recording here on Amazon for $25. Nobody should spend $85 for a double CD that can be found for a regular price ... In the meantime, you can use the link on top right that says Used and New. While I am writing this review, you can get it new for $27.
Bottomline: This is the best Manon Lescaut recording available, despite some weaknesses. Thanks for reading!
P.S. If you find my review helpful, vote YES (It does not mean you agree. It just means you found it helpful). You can read all my other reviews if you wish to. I modestly write them to help people form an opinion about movies, music and books, but if nobody reads them (if you don't vote I do not know if you did) there is no point in writing them.

The Number One Manon Lescaut Recording
This early 80's recording from Deutsche Grammophone dare never get out of print. It is by far the most dramatic and powerfully moving version of Puccini's first operatic masterpiece Manon Lescaut. It stars Placido Domingo, Mirella Freni, Renato Bruson, Kurt Rydl and in the lesser role of a musician Brigitte Fasbaender. The New Philharmonia is conducted by Sinopoli. First of all, this is a very beautiful and dramatic opera, and the cast is first-rate, singing their respective parts with unrivaled technical mastership and dramatic abilities. Placido Domingo and Mirella Freni as the lovers Manon and Des Grieux suffuse their singing with a measure of beautiful Puccini lyricism and verisimo power. They give strong performances and to me, they never falter. There is an earlier recording of Manon Lescaut in which Freni is paired with Pavarotti, the more constant tenor-soprano pair. But this recording far outshines that one because Domingo and Freni are in better shape and give it their all. By the finale, I was in tears. Domingo is passionate, tormented and Freni is dramatic, full of despair. Their voices escalate to such an unbelievable height of glory it's breathtaking. If you're a fan of Mirella Freni and Placido Domingo, this is by far their best collaboration.

A Sparkling Opera
Manon Lescaut was the second opera by Puccini that I heard. Once I heard the sprightly energy of the opening bars I fell in love with the opera. This was the composer's third opera and his first triumph. Like his subsequent operas, Manon is characterized by ravishing melodies, descriptive of the emotions of the characters.

The casting of this recording is magical with Mirella Freni as Manon and Placido Domingo as De Grieux. Both Freni and Domingo sing with passion and bring their characters to life. Ms. Freni is particularly remarkable in the final act as lays dying in a foreign land projecting her anguish and sadness at leaving Des Grieux. The supporting roles are also marvelously sung with Renato Bruson as Manon's brother and Kurt Rydl as the jealous Geronte. The recording is also distinguished by Brigitte Fassbaender in the small role of Un Musico.

Giuseppe Sinopoli has been criticized for stretching tempos (notably in his recording of Cavalleria Rusticana) but here there is no argument that he is beautifully on tempo and makes the most of Puccini's beautiful score. For me, this is the Manon Lescaut that I had been searching for: passionate and beautifully sung. I could not recommend it highly enough.