Piotr Beczała and Anna Netrobko, www.beczala.com
Polish tenor Piotr Beczała stars as des Grieux in Massenet’s opera Manon, which premieres at the Metropolitan Opera on the 26th of March, 2012
Beczała performs yet another time at the Met, garnering growing acclaim since his debut on the New York stage in 2006. Late March sees the young tenor star as des Grieux, an abandoned and won back lover of the seductive Manon, played by Anna Netrebko. The Royal Opera’s British production moves the libretto’s original setting from France of the late 18th century to the late 19th century. This story is based on a 1731 novel by the French writer Abbé Antoine-François Prévost.
Massenet's opera centres on its charming but contrary heroine, the vivacious young Manon who longs for luxury and excitement. We first encounter her en route to a convent, where her family are sending her to be educated. Along the way, she falls in love with the young student Des Grieux, and, impetuously, runs off with him. She soon leaves him, however, to become the mistress of a rich nobleman. Chevalier des Grieux studies to become a priest and then renounces his vocation to be with Manon again. Manon’s descent into criminality and depravity all too soon drags the besotted Des Grieux with her, until she is imprisoned.
Despite its tragic story, the opera is full of French charm and vitality – typified by the ambiguous Manon herself. Her plight is touching because of the subtle play of innocence and calculation in her character. The score contains many sparkling arias and ensembles, moving rapidly from moods of exuberance to tenderness, with perfect dramatic timing.
At the Metropolitan Opera, as in London, the innovative staging features Chantal Thomas’s scenic design with lighting by Joël Adam and costumes by Laurent Pelly. In his role debut as the ardent Chevalier des Grieux, Piotr Beczala is Netrebko’s co-star – as in previous Met productions of La bohème and Lucia di Lammermoor. On the podium, the Met’s Principal Conductor, Fabio Luisi, leads his first Manon for the company. In addition to the Met: Live in HD transmission on the 7th of April, four performances – including the opening night’s – are broadcast live on Sirius XM radio.
The Polish tenor's performance was praised by Maury d'Annato in a review following the premiere on March 27th;
Perhaps here is the place to mention that Piotr Beczala went, this evening, from being another of the Met’s half dozen capable Edgardos to being its best asset, should French opera play a large role in coming seasons. "Le Rêve" was a wonder of pathos and vulnerability. In St. Sulpice, he was Netrebko’s towering equal, but in every moment of the opera, he provided the kind of hairpin turns of dynamic that matter so much in this rep, never calculated, but always precise. The mixe is there, the diction struck my non-native ear as good (well, it helps to be compared to Trebs in this particular category), and he delivered all of this with an easy sincerity and not a little spontaneity.
The Metropolitan Opera is the largest classical music organization in North America. It presents about 27 different operas each year in a season which lasts from late September through May. The operas are presented in a rotating repertory schedule with up to seven performances of four different works staged each week. Performances are given in the evening Monday through Saturday with a matinée on Saturday. Several operas are presented in new productions each season. Sometimes these are borrowed from or shared with other opera houses. The rest of the year's operas are given in revivals of productions from previous seasons.
The operas in the Met's repertoire consist of works written in many different musical genres, from 18th Century Baroque and 19th Century Bel canto, up through the Minimalism of the late 20th Century. These operas are presented in staged productions that range in style from those with elaborate traditional decors to others that feature modern conceptual designs.
Beyond performing in the opera house in New York, the Met has gradually expanded its audience through technology. It has broadcast regularly on radio since 1931 and on television since 1977. In 2006, the Met began live satellite radio and internet broadcasts as well as live high-definition video transmissions presented in cinemas throughout the world.
Throughout the 2011/2012 season direct broadcasts of the Met’s productions are transmitted across 1200 stages in 43 different countries. Polish venues to host the transmissions are Warsaw’s Teatr Studio, Kijów Centrum in Kraków, the Philharmonic of Łódź, Zorza cinema in Rzeszów, Gliwicki Teatr Muzyczny and Kino Amok in Gliwice, Światowid cinema in Elbląg and the Kosmos cinema in Katowice.
Jules Massenet’s Manon premieres at the Metropolitan Opera in New York on the 26th of March, 2012, with repeat performances on the 31st of March, and the 3rd, 7th, 1th, 14th, 17th, 20th, 23rd and 28th of April, 2012.
Source: www.roh.org.uk, www.metoperafamily.org