Massenet: Manon / Maag, Pavarotti, Freni, Panerai, et al

On this CD:

1. Manon, opera
Composed by Jules Massenet
Performed by La Scala Theater Orchestra with Virgilio Carbonari, Mirella Freni, Giuseppe Morresi, Rolando Panerai, Luciano Pavarotti, Franco Ricciardi, Antonio Zerbini
Conducted by Peter Maag

Massenet: Manon / Maag, Pavarotti, Freni, Panerai, et al, Music, Jules Massenet, Jules Massenet, L'Orchestra del Teatro alla Scala, Antonio Zerbini, Franco Ricciardi, Giuseppe Morresi, Luciano Pavarotti, Mirella Freni, Rolando Panerai, Virgilio Carbonari, Peter Maag, Luciano Pavarotti, Mirella Freni, Rolando Panerai, Antonio Zerbini, Classical, Classical Music, French Romantic Opera, Opera, Opera / Operetta / Oratorio, Opera/Operetta
Massenet: Manon / Maag, Pavarotti, Freni, Panerai, et al
Average customer rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
  • Not authentic but still wonderful drama!
  • Massenet: Manon
  • C'est magnifique (maybe), but it is not "Manon"
  • Another Opera d'Oro bargain
  • excellent
 Massenet: Manon / Maag, Pavarotti, Freni, Panerai, et al
Peter Maag , Luciano Pavarotti , Mirella Freni , Rolando Panerai , and Antonio Zerbini
Manufacturer: Opera D'oro
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

All Works by MassenetAll Works by Massenet | Massenet, Jules | ( M ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music
GeneralGeneral | Classical | Styles | Music
RomancesRomances | Classical (c.1770-1830) | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music
GeneralGeneral | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music
FrenchFrench | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music
OperettasOperettas | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music
ASIN: B00000AFP5
Release Date: 1998-08-25

Tracks:

  1. Manon: Introduction
  2. Manon: Act 1 : Ola! Ehi! Fuori il camerier
  3. Manon: Act 1 : IL Guaio suon' io tutta stordita?
  4. Manon: Act 1 : Che fior d'una ragazza!
  5. Manon: Act 1 : Ancor son'io tutta stordita
  6. Manon: Act 1 : Andiam! E l'ora...
  7. Manon: Act 1 : Oste di Satanasso!
  8. Manon: Act 1 : E che dicea, Manon
  9. Manon: Act 1 : Restiam, poiche convien restar!
  10. Manon: Act 1 : Qualcun! Mettiamoci
  11. Manon: Act 1 : Ah! parla ancor....
  12. Manon: Act 1 : A Parigi andrem ed insiem
  13. Manon: Act 2 : Manon!....Vi da timor
  14. Manon: Act 2 : Il suo nome e Monon
  15. Manon: Act 2 : Due guardie son la
  16. Manon: Act 2 : Ecco qui, a mio padre sciveva
  17. Manon: Act 2 : A perfezion! Non si puo dir meglio
  18. Manon: Act 2 : Ebben lo deggio!...
  19. Manon: Act 2 : Addio, o nostro piccol!...
  20. Manon: Act 2 : E Lui! Che il mio pallor
  21. Manon: Act 2 : Chiudo gli occhi e nel pensier
  22. Manon: Act 2 : O ciel! Di gia

Tracks:

  1. Manon: Act 3 : Qual eloquenza
  2. Manon: Act 3 : Bravo, mio figlio!
  3. Manon: Act 3 : Io son sol!...Ah! dispar, vision
  4. Manon: Act 3 : Signor, vorrei parlar all' abate
  5. Manon: Act 3 : Tu!...Voi!...
  6. Manon: Act 3 : La tua non e la mano
  7. Manon: Act 4 : Fate gioco, signori!
  8. Manon: Act 4 : Deal tuo cuor, del core alla voce
  9. Manon: Act 4 : Un motto per favor, cavalier
  10. Manon: Act 4 : Obbediam del core alla voce
  11. Manon: Act 4 : Giochaim! Giochaim!
  12. Manon: Act 4 : Oh ciel! Chi Picchia a quella porta?
  13. Manon: Act 4 : Si,son qui
  14. Manon: Act 4 : Manon! Oh! Manon
  15. Manon: Act 4 : Ah! Des Grieux
  16. Manon: Act 4 : Ah! Sento una pura fiamma
  17. Manon: Act 4 : La tua non e la mano che mi tocca

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars Not authentic but still wonderful drama!.......2007-03-04

This is a wonderfully sung Italian portrait of Massenet's Manon. It is in Italian, which may upset some people, but it may well be preferable to hear Pavorotti singing freely in Italian rather than struggling in French! The opera is heavily cut and even rearranged in places. Some cuts are inevitable in a live performance of Manon which is otherwise extremely long. However these changes are rather extreme. It is also very much an Italian perfomance, with an Italian cast and audience.
Despite all this, I think this is a great CD to own. The passionate scenes between Manon and Lescaut are more intense than on any other version I have heard.
Mirella Freni sings her heart out and especially at this early stage of her career her voice really was extremely beautiful. She does not know how to sing an ugly note. As mentioned above, the Italian nature of the performance (with Pavorotti especially holding on to his final notes for maximum effect) bring the house down and are very much aimed at the audience. However, this also gives rise to a passionate performance with real feeling.
The sound quality is not bad there is no irritating prompter, no coughing and not too much general audience noise except for applause. It's much better than many Opera D'Oro CD's.
If you are a fan of Manon, then along with a complete version, I would recommend this as a lovely addition to your collection.

4 out of 5 stars Massenet: Manon.......2007-01-11

This is a fine recording and vocally strong in all roles. The only part that I would change would be to have it sung in the original language, French, which to my ear is more pleasing in this instance.

3 out of 5 stars C'est magnifique (maybe), but it is not "Manon".......2006-12-10

The first Amazon reviewer to comment on this "Manon" depth-bombed it with a one-star review. The following seven praised this recording with four-star reviews. (One of them, I note, did it twice.) I have no doubt that the six individuals who offered praise did so with the wholly honest intention of pointing out the merits of the set as they saw them (although one of them, strangely enough, seems to be under the impression that it "is probably the best French recording of this opera"--or perhaps he was writing about another opera altogether; it's hard to say!)

However, in examining their praise, I find that the six have set out what seem to me to be a set of damning indictments:

--"The animal passion brought to the singing by Pavarotti and Freni is perhaps the result of their singing in their native language; sung like this the opera is less charming and precious, more gutsy and Puccini-esque; Italianate, not Gallic."

--"For all its beautiful music, there is no denying the fact that the opera is, at times, tedious, sluggish, and, well, French.... THe [sic] young Pavarotti & Freni sing this as if they were singing Puccini's Manon treatment. It's arduous [sic, ardent?], passionate, sexy and extremely Italian."

--"For those looking for some fine Massenet, well, try another recording of this opera, or just another opera all together (i.e. Herodiade)."

--"Yes, I know... this opera was written in French, but in this live recording, it sounds so much more passionate than the average Manon. Having long been a fan of the Puccini version (Manon Lescaut) I never really enjoyed much of this version because it seemed to lack the simmer".

--"The problem with this recording is not that it is sung in Italian, but the cuts that it employs. Act III Scene I is totally missing. This includes the ballet and most importantly the scene between Des Grieux's father and Manon. And the spoken dialogue over the o[r]chestral writing which is so effective is also cut. This means that in Act V Lescaut doesn't have a conversation with the soldier which is how Manon is reunited with Des Grieux! I don't know if these are the cuts La Scala made or were made to fit this opera on two discs."

So there we have it. We are, I am sure, reliably informed that this Italian language production presents a hacked up, shortened and mangled version of Massenet's "Manon." (Pace, Mr. Moore, all those cuts were not standard in 1969.) But that is all right since Massenet's opera bears the heavy burdens of being "charming and precious," neither "gutsy" nor "Puccini-esque"--and "simmer"-free. Massenet's "Manon," we are shockingly informed, is not even "Italianate" but "Gallic"!

Now, when I come to consider acquiring a recording of "Manon," I am one of those benighted types "looking for some fine Massenet." More than that, when I think of "Manon" I think of it not only as a French opera, but as the most French of all French operas. Not the Citroen cars, the 158 local varieties of cheese, nor even the Eiffel Tower come close to its level of Frenchiness. And if I actually wanted an Italianate take on the story of Manon, I'd be looking at Puccini's "Manon Lescaut," not Massenet's "Manon"!

(Of course, if I were looking for "Manon Lescaut," it would be either the blazing live performance with Tucker and Olivero or the old studio brilliance of Bjorling and Albanese that I'd choose, certainly not the more recent version with Freni and Pavarotti, in which both are far more suited for the material but still inferior to their spectacular predecessors.)

This "Manon" is a mangled, stylistically misguided performance of Massenet's opera sung in the wrong language. The audience at La Scala ate it up. I suspect that an audience at the Paris Opera would have been less enthusiastic. Much less!

Three ho-hum stars--because the fans of Pavarotti and Freni can always find something, somewhere to love.

4 out of 5 stars Another Opera d'Oro bargain.......2006-12-05

No, it's not THE "Manon" to own but indispensable as an adjunct to a wholly authentic, French, complete version such as the more recent, very successful Alagna/Gheorghiu/Pappano recording with a mostly French supporting cast.

This one is in Italian - none the worse for that, just different - and loses the first scene of Act 3 - standard practice in 1969. The animal passion brought to the singing by Pavarotti and Freni is perhaps the result of their singing in their native language; sung like this the opera is less charming and precious, more gutsy and Puccini-esque; Italianate, not Gallic. Panerai is in fine voice and very characterful, the supporting cast adequate. the sound is quite good - only occasionally a bit congested - and the audience very well behaved, saving their raucous appreciation for appropriate moments. The two principals are in unbelievably fresh voice - just occasionally Freni scoops a bit, but they both sing tenderly as well as passionately.

4 out of 5 stars excellent.......2005-02-14

I first heard this recording on a radio broadcast in NY in 1981 and I recorded it on cassette at that time. Unfortunately I had company at my house so I missed some critical moments. However, they were both in excellent voice and it is worth buying. There is a great CD of this opera from a live Paris recording with Renee Fleming and Marcello Alvarez. While Alvarez is not on the level of Pavarotti, he is quite good in this. Fleming is outstanding. This is probably the best French recording of this opera and I think it surpasses the Sills recording.

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