Puccini: Manon Lescaut

On this evening, the Hungarian National Choir and Hungarian National Philharmonic Orchestra will take advantage of the attributes of Müpa Budapest's Béla Bartók National Concert Hall in order to present Puccini's immortal masterpiece Manon Lescaut in the form of a semi-staged performance. Adding to the production's relevance is the fact that it is taking place in the centenary year of the composer's death in 1924. Director Csaba Káel has been intimately familiar with the possibilities and excellent acoustic conditions of the hall from its very beginning, and taking the podium as conductor will be the orchestra's chief music director, György Vashegyi, who has collaborated with Káel on numerous joint projects over the course of many decades.

When Giacomo Puccini, then in his early thirties, decided to set Abbé Prévost's 18th-century romance novel The Story of the Chevalier des Grieux and Manon Lescaut to music, his publisher, Ricordi, tried to talk him out of the plan, as the French Romantic composer Jules Massenet had already written his successful opera Manon from the same literary source in 1884. Nevertheless, Puccini refused to be dissuaded and, assuming full responsibility for the risk of failure, wrote his own Manon Lescaut. He was later proved correct: with its world premiere in Turin in 1893, the work gave him the first major success of his life. Singing the title role in this joint production being presented as part of the ongoing collaboration between Müpa Budapest and the Hungarian National Philharmonic Orchestra is the Italian soprano Monica Zanettin, highly acclaimed for her interpretations of Puccini and Verdi roles. The international cast also includes the globetrotting Romanian baritone Serban Vasile and the popular French tenor Artavazd Sargsyan, with several superb Hungarian singers - Miklós Sebestyén, Dömötör Pintér, László Kálmán, Gabriella Busa and István Gáspár - further enhancing the performance as well. Maestro György Vashegyi has been conducting opera for decades, including as a regularly returning guest of the Hungarian State Opera.

Presented by: Hungarian National Philharmonic, Müpa Budapest

Conductor: György Vashegyi

Cast:

Manon Lescaut.............................................................Monica Zanettin
Sergeant Lescaut.........................................................Serban Vasile
Chevalier des Grieux....................................................N. N.
Geronte de Revoir........................................................Miklós Sebestyén
Edmondo, a student.....................................................Artavazd Sargsyan
Innkeeper/Sergeant of the Royal Archers....................Dömötör Pintér
Singer...........................................................................Gabriella Busa
Dance Master/Lamplighter............................................László Kálmán
Naval Captain...............................................................István Gáspár

Featuring:

Hungarian National Philharmonic Orchestra
Hungarian National Choir (choirmaster: Csaba Somos)

set: Éva Szendrényi
costumes: Kati Zoób
assistant director: Sylvie Gábor
musical collaborator: Alessandro Amoretti
director: Csaba Káel