Manon Lescaut is a classic Puccini love story. Manon and des Grieux fall in love at first sight, and after a brief time of happiness, Manon betrays des Grieux with a rich, older lover. But when Manon and des Grieux re-unite, the spurned older man in his vengence has Manon arrested as a prostitute and she is exiled to Louisiana. The devoted des Grieux goes with her as a deckhand and helps her escape. But she dies in his arms in a desolate, lonely landscape near New Orleans as they near the safety of British territory.
In the 1950's and early 1960's, Mario del Monaco and Renata Tebaldi made eleven full length recordings of operas for Decca. They were very popular, and this this week we have Manon Lescaut highlights from a 1954 recording in that series. Renata Tebaldi sings Manon, and Mario del Monaco des Grieux. Tulio Serafin conducts the orchestra of the Academy of Cecilia in Rome.