Conductor
Riccardo Muti

Performers
Manon : Maria Guleghina
Des Grieux : Jose Cura
Lescaut : Lucio Gallo
Geronte : Luigi Roni

This Manon Lescaut is a highly polished and dramatic interpretation of the lyrical tragedy performed at La Scala 1998. It features virtuoso performances by Jose Cura (in powerful and dramatically convincing form), Maria Guleghina (who produces some astoundingly sweet soft singing) and Lucio Gallo, and is conducted by Riccardo Muti, who brings out some fine contrasts and balances of tempos, drama and pace.

The opera dates from the early 1890s, when Puccini was living utterly destitute in Milan. His last opera Edgar had failed, and in his efforts to make Manon Lescaut a success - and as different from Massenet's Manon - he exhausted the efforts of six librettists. Puccini's opera was eventually premiered in 1893 in Turin, and - despite the composer's fears of another failure - it was an immediate hit, being performed within the year in St Petersburg, Madrid, Hamburg, Buenos Aires and Rio. Puccini's reputation was established, and the opera has stayed in the repertoire ever since.