A scene from the performance, photo: Krzysztof Bieliński, Teatr Wielki - National Opera Archives
Treliński’s debut at La Monnaie stirs heated, mixed reactions in the Belgian press. Journalists agree in their judgement of the musical performace, with the Polish director’s staging dividing their opinions.
A co-production of La Monnaie and the Welsh National Opera, Manon Lescaut enjoyed its premiere in Warsaw in October 2012. Mariusz Treliński decided to create changes after the run at the National Opera, for the series of performances that continue on Brussel’s most significant opera stage.
The weekend edition of Le Soir, Belgium’s major French-language journal, praises Treliński’s contemporary staging of Puccini’s classic. The review lists numerous assets of the play, adding that towards the end the play seems to loose some of its tempo and sharpness. Le Soir also recognises the imaginative set-design work by Boris Kudliczka, Treliński’s regular collaborator. The journal notes that the main element of the wonderful decoration - a contemporary underground station - uses images of city lights and skyscrapers flashing through in vivid video projections. The contemporary context Treliński presents is read as both the dream and nightmare of Chevalier des Grieux, madly in love with Manon Lescaut.
In contrast to Le Soir, La Libre Belgique, while appreciating the conductor and his orchestra, spares no criticism to the actual staging presented by Treliński. Stating that the director had deformed the classic libretto, it accuses this destortion of serving merely the purpose of revealing Treliński’s own fantasies. La Libre Belgique accuses the director of treating a woman’s body like a part of the set design, and scorns the way in which a height of contemporany style is thought to be reached by transforming the heroine into a hooker.
Manon Lescaut is screened live on the 29th of January across 26 cinemas in Belgium and France. The transmission is part of the Long Live the Opera! Series, conducted by the UGC cinema network.
The performances at La Monnaie take place from the 24th of January till the 8th of February 2013, with the Welsh premiere scheduled for spring of 2014.
Manon Lescaut wraps up a successful trilogy of femme-fatale performances hosted by La Monnaie. As part of the series, the Belgian stage also put on Verdi’s La Traviata, and Alban Berg’s Lulu under the direction of Krzysztof Warlikowski.
Editor: SRS
Source: press release