It’s our third and final look at a treatment of Prevost’s tragic tale of Manon on this week’s Sunday Opera (8/10 3:00 p.m.) with the opera by Giacomo Puccini from the Teatro Regio in Turin. This production features Erika Grimaldi as Manon, Roberto Aronica as des Grieux, Alessandro Luongo as Lescaut, and Carlo Lepore as Gernote.
Since this is the third edition, most will pretty much know the story of the wayward Manon. In Puccini’s version, she meets her tragic end in the desert (wilderness) of Louisiana after being transported to a penal colony in America.
Other members of the cast include Giuseppi Infantino as des Grieux’s friend Edmondo and Didier Pieri in the dual roles of Lamplighter and Dance Master. Renato Palumbo conducts the Teatro Regio Chorus and Orchestra.
We’ve got what we think is a wonderful musical treat following the opera. For some time, we’ve been hoping for enough time to bring you the score of a ballet with which we are particularly taken. We accidentally stumbled upon it one evening on an internet video site in a performance by the Bolshoi Ballet. It’s the score for “Cipollino,” a 1974 ballet by Karen Khachaturian, nephew to Aram.
The story is taken from an extremely popular children’s book by Gianni Rodari about the title character, a young onion, who fights against the political oppression of the egocentric Prince Lemon, rallies the other vegetables and fruit, and with the help of his friends Little Radish and Count Cherry, wins the day.
Besides the charming and rather topical story, Khachaturian’s music is a wonderful mixture of catchy marches and spirited up-tempo pieces. It’s just a joy, and we hope you’ll enjoy it as well. The recording to which we’ll be listening comes from that Bolshoi production with Alexander Kopylov conducting the Bolshoi Symphony.
