Massenet - Manon / Gheorghiu, Alagna, Patriarco, van Dam, Ragon, Rivenq, Panzarella, Koch, Schimmack, Pappano

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Editorial reviews

Amazon.com
Thomas Beecham stated once that he would "happily give up all the Brandenburg Concertos for Manon." He might also have thrown in a couple of Beethoven symphonies and the late Mozart operas if he had heard what Angela Gheorghiu makes of the title role; she's stunning. If you want a Manon who is transparently charming from the first note, whose venal flaws are presented with honesty and insight, whose final self-recrimination is heartbreaking, Gheorghiu is your woman. And when the dramatic portrayal is underpinned with that technique--pianissimo top notes, exquisite phrasing, powerful lower register, glorious full, rounded sound--it's impossible not to be drawn into this wonderful reading. Her husband, Roberto Alagna, if he doesn't quite have her silken tone, still is an excellent partner, and gives a real sense of des Grieux's early callowness being transformed by suffering into emotional maturity. Conductor Antonio Pappano draws some lush playing from the band, and sensibly avoids treating the 18th-century imitations as frivolous pastiche. From the lightness of the early comic scenes, it's almost possible to believe that the ending will be a happy one, such is the integrity of his approach--and it makes the terrible close all the more harrowing. --Warwick Thompson

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Customer reviews

review by: Le Nozze date: 2008-08-23 rating:
Astounding!
I have to say, I have never been a fan of Angela Gheorghiu or Roberto Alagna. I was severely displeased with her performance in La Boheme last season at the Met, and I was hesitant to buy this recording. As I am attending Manon this coming fall, I read review after review trying to find the best recording to prepare myself. I finally decided on this recording, and I decided I would have to give Gheorghiu the benefit of the doubt and hope she would surprise me.

And surprise me she did! Rather, she completely blew me away. This recording is totally absent of her usual mannerisms that usually annoy me, and it is instead filled with the most glorious singing I have heard in a great while. I am not a singer, and I do not consider myself a great expert in singing technique. But I do know what I like, and here, I LOVE Gheorghiu's performance.

Presented in rich, modern sound, this recording will leave you heartbroken at the end and yearning for more.

Gheorghiu was amazing, and as much as I love Natalie Dessay, I believe she will have a hard time passing coming up to Gheorghiu's performance at Lyric this fall.

This set is no longer available on amazon.com. EMI has just re-released it under their "Mid-Price Opera Series". Try to track down the original release (this one) and the not the newly released verson (the one with the cartoon on the cover). The new is far from mid-price and lacks a libretto. This one includes a very thick booklet filled with informative essays and (thankfully) a full libretto.

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review by: soaringpiglet date: 2006-05-31 rating:
Sonically beautiful but lacking in character
I think my "title" pretty much sums up my response to this "Manon". The overall sound is rich, even lush; but I find very little character in the leads, especially Gheorghiu. She sings ravishingly; she really does - there's no question about that. But over and again I find my attention wandering, because she never gives me a sense of a character in a particular place and situation. There are occasional insightful moments, but not enough for me. Her voice while dying on the roadside is much the same as in the Gavotte: full and ravishing. Alagna is robust, but not particularly Gallic; and, again, there is not a lot of character, no change from scene to scene to denote the changes in the Chevalier's life and love. One reviewer said it sounded like Leoncavallo, and I have to admit that I know what he meant. It takes more than singing in French to make French Opera! On the other hand, when the secondary artists have the stage, I begin to get a sense of scene and event and a shadow of that strange quality that makes French opera different than other varieties. SO...if you want a perfectly beautiful stretch of music in lovely sound quality, you'll be happy with this "Manon". It *is* lovely. If on the other hand you value singing that varies its colour and weight and conveys multiple shades of character, I think you'll be disappointed, as was I.

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review by: date: 2006-05-28 rating:
A thrilling, big-voiced 'Manon'
Made in 1999, the year after they recorded Werther, Alagna and Gheorghiu were already moving toward big-voice roles. In her case the move was a natural growth. The role of Manon duplicates the range of emotions that Gheorghiu displayed triumphantly in her debut La Traviata, but here she has more solidity and thrust in her voice. An ideal Manon (I think Sills and de los Angeles come closer) should be girlish and sexually alluring in a way that Gheorgiu doesn't naturally possess--her will and strength are always apparent just beneath the surface. But she really is a treasure among contemporary sopranos, as her Manon abundantly displays.

Alagna's move toward big-voice roles hasn't been as smooth. (His "Ah fuyez" here is bawled out at top volume, unlike his more elegant rendiiton on the debut duets CD with Gheorghiu.) Compared to his Werther, his Des Grieux sounds pushed and rough at times. The push works given how passionate the chemistry is between him and his heroine. There's nothing quite like it on the opera stage right now. Currently his Cavaradossi and Don Jose, along with his Berlioz arias, sound coarse and strained to me. One misses the nuance he brought to Massenet seven years ago.

Finally, the Belgian supporting cast from the Monnaaie Opera in Brussels are refreshingly Gallic, and Pappano conducts the music for all its worth. No Massenet opera is pure gold, and Manon contains more than its share of frivolous, limp, or irrelevant music, and minor characters litter the drama about whom we care nothing. Pappano makes the whole score sparkle, though, and our attetnion is riveted where it needs to be, on the romantic leads. It's because of them that Manon survives in the oepra house, and this EMI recording makes the most of that.

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review by: date: 2006-02-25 rating:
Oh And....
After hearing this sensational Manon with the marvelously gifted Angela Gheorghiu and Roberto Alagna, I have fantasized about these two putting on operas that have not been sung for over 20 years - Giordano's Andrea Chenier: can you imagine how riveting it would be too hear them sing with passion to that great music ? Cilea's Adriana Lecouvreur: Surely someone has approached Gheorghiu with an offer to sing Adriana. That role is musically, dramatically and temperamentally suited to her and the tenor part of Maurizio has Alagna written all over it. The problem with these two is they sing with great power and beauty but works that can easily be fitted to lighter voices. They sing works that are technically still mainstream- Boheme, Pagliacci, Cavalleria Rusticana, Trovatore, Tosca, Manon, Romeo et Juliette, La Rondine, Werther, et. Give us some more wonderful music, Gheorghiu-Alagna.


review by: date: 2006-02-25 rating:
Another Winner From The Alagna/Gheorghiu Pair
Other than Renee Fleming's recent Manon release, this studio recording of Manon is considered a superb rendition, especially because today's hottest opera couple - Roberto Alagna and Angela Gheorghiu- sing their hearts out as the lovers Manon and Des Grieux in a moving performance. EMI has championed this amazing pair and under this same label you will find recordings of Gounod's Romeo Et Juliette, Tosca, Werther, La Rondine and most recently Il Trovatore. Soprano Angela Gheorghiu had some big shoes to fill singing this part. Beverly Sills had owned the role for a time in the 70's and it was one of her top 3 greatest roles. Soprano Mirella Freni sang the role to great acclaim as did Victoria De Los Angeles. Nevertheless, even with all these big names before her, Angela Gheorghiu masters this role in a uniquely stunning performance. Her big, dramatic voice is tailor suited to the role's darker aspects. While Manon can easily be reduced to a vacuous and insensitive French heroine, Angela Gheorghiu makes her willful, passionate, dramatic. She is able to make her sound girlish and flirtatious in the first act. Later on she shades her voice to bring out her negative side- she's ambitious, materialistic and a gold-digger. But, through the magic of Gheorghiu's voice and conductor Antonio Pappano's treatment of the score, the finale is especially powerful. She is resigned, regretful and wholly changed. This role is Gheorghiu's greatest vehicle, even better than her much-vaunted La Traviata. Here, she is able to act and sing with equal successes, a rare thing for this particular brand of "look pretty and sing" soprano. Even more than Renee Fleming (who is dramatically unsatisfactory) Gheorghiu most effectively sings Manon in the manner that Massenet intended.

Tenor Roberto Alagna sings with beautiful tones and with elegance and musicality. His French is not as bad as people have claimed. His chemistry with Gheorghiu is once again electrifying. The St. Sulpice scene/duet ranks as the most powerfully moving ever. The preceeding aria is also very well-executed, a thrilling display of nearly verisimo like singing. As a matter of fact, because of the intensity of the singers, and Pappano's conducting, this Manon is relatively more "verisimo" than other Manons. But this doesn't detract from its excellence. All devoted fans of Angela Gheorghiu and Roberto Alagna should own this recording. As a bonus, baritone Jose Van Dam, past his prime but singing just as good as his younger days, sings a wonderful Des Grieux Senior. If you're a fan of this type of dramatic-lyric singing, look for other recordings from this amazing duo. I hope that eventually, while they are still in good voice, Gheorghiu and Alagna can sing old and forgotten operas like Charpentier's Louise which has a slight similarity to Manon, or turn of the century works like Zardonia's Francesca Da Rimini. I sincerely feel those works are suited to them......A fan from the US

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