Puccini's version of Manon Lescaut was first mounted at the Teatro Regio in Turin on 1st February 1893, the year and month of the first production of Verdi's Falstaff in Milan. The opera proved an immediate success. It was staged at Covent Garden and at the Grand Opera House of Philadelphia the following year. There were subsequent revisions and temporary changes, with alterations in orchestration suggested by Toscanini for performances at the Metropolitan Opera in New York, these last incorporated in the later published score. The libretto itself, effective enough, in spite of its multiple authorship, offers certain problems, not least in the omission of the original second act suggested by Praga and Oliva and set in the Paris apartment of Des Grieux, although what has happened in the interval between the present first and second acts is quickly apparent.

Tracklist:

Act 1: Intro
Act 1: Tra Voi, Belle, Brune E Bionde
Act 1: Cortese Damigella, Il Priego Mio Accettate
Act 1: Donna Non Vidi Mai
Act 1: Vedete? Io Son Fedele
Act 2: In Quelle Trine Morbide
Act 2: Oh, Sara La Piu Bella!
Act 2: Senti, Di Qui Partiamo...Ah! Manon, Mi Tradisce
Intermezzo
Act 3: Ansia Eterna, Crudel...
Act 3: Presto!...In Fila!...Marciate!...No!...Pazzo Son!
Act 4: Tutta Su Me Ti Posa...Manon....Senti Amor Mio
Act 4: Sola...Perduta...Abbandonata
Act 4: Fra Le Tue Braccia...Amore!

UPC: 636943470527
Label: Naxos
Release Date: 7.18.00
Format: CD

Alexander Rahbari - Manon Lescaut (CD)