Well if you were one of the lucky ones to be captivated by the LAOpera performance of Manon by Jules Massenet, then you were astounded by the Sunday matinee at Dorothy Chandler Pavilion. From the updated setting in the 1950s, the razor sharp lighting, and to the steamy performances of Villazon and Netrebko, we all soaked up alot first class work by this company.
Opera works best when all its parts are well oiled, so to speak. LAOpera seems to be better and better fine tuned as each production rolls off the assembly line. While some of the new operas are exquisitely staged, it is the older operas that just knock your socks off with a polish and performance that makes me feel like I am staring at a 1930s Cord displayed in all its awesome glory.
This Manon has a wonderful 1950's concept that seems to translate well until the death scene the prison death seems over done for the time. But, it is a small point after you have been captivated by scenes, acting, lighting, and singing that seems to sparkle like an Ozzie and Harriet's kitchen. Even the costuming works to bring you into 50s Paris of haute couture, post war jubilance, and the destruction of money that modern society says is love. This undercurrent commentary elevates the performance from well performed to stellar.
Some of us do not have the knowledge of some of the opera buffs, but you cannot mistake the performances of Rolando Villazon and Anna Netrebko for anything but magnetic. Their attraction for each other, their marriage, and their almost exhibitionist performance placed the parts of Manon and des Grieux into a mind warp of scandal and properity. Few will forget the des Grieux's letter being held by Manon as slowly pulls it along her body as her lover reads every mushy, loving phase.
If we were not convinced, here comes the Act III, Scene II in the church where the scenery plays a prison to each characters' thoughts, yet ends up being the prop that restarts their love affair all over. Manon, is dressed in symbolic couture red, while des Griuex's gray robes seem like a moth trying to resist the flame of Manon's apology.
But, what caught my ear was an aria of des Grieux as he sings of his lone place now that Manon has left him and God is his light to forget the past. His conviction seems assured, but minutes later he is surprised by the destructive force that is Manon. Manon as the operatic mammon corrupts all around her as shes spins a confection of doom she seems addicted to wherever she goes. Without money, she dies. And, real love is part of her last breathe as she relizes what she has done.
What a worth while time courtesy of the LAOpera!
