64. Manon Lescaut
TIME OF ORIGIN
Summer 1889 – October 1892 (for the later revisions, see SOURCES and NOTES).
PERFORMANCES
First performance: 1 February 1893 at the Teatro Regio, Turin.
Cast: Cesira Ferrani (Manon), Giuseppe Cremonini (Des Grieux), Achille Moro (Lescaut), Alessandro Polonini (Geronte), Roberto Ramini (Edmondo); conductor: Alessandro Pomè.
First performance of the revised version: 21 December 1893 at the Teatro Coccia, Novara.
Cast: Ettorina De Marzi (Manon), Giuseppe Borgatti (Des Grieux), Ruggiero Astillero (Lescaut), Giulio Rossi (Geronte), Pietro Maini (Edmondo); conductor: Carlo Carignani.
Performance of the revised version (with Puccini present): 21 January 1894 at the Teatro San Carlo, Naples. Cast: Eva Tetrazzini (Manon), Fernando Valero (Des Grieux), Arturo Pessina (Lescaut), Giuseppe Frigiotti (Geronte); conductor: Vincenzo Lombardi.
First performance of the definitive version: 26 December 1922 at the Teatro alla Scala, Milan.
Cast: Juanita Caracciolo (Manon), Aureliano Pertile (Des Grieux), Ernesto Badini (Lescaut), Umberto Di Lelio (Geronte), Alfredo Tedeschi (Edmondo); conductor: Arturo Toscanini.
First performance of the corrected definitive version: 15 September 1923 at the Teatro del Giglio, Lucca. Cast: Iole Ferrari (Manon), Piero Marescaldi (Des Grieux), Carlo Cavallini (Lescaut), Albino Maroni (Geronte); conductor: Ugo Tansini.
CAST
Manon Lescaut (Soprano)
Lescaut, sergente delle guardie del Re (Baritone)
Il Cavaliere Renato Des Grieux, studente (Tenor)
Geronte di Ravoir, tesoriere generale (Basso brillante)
Edmondo, studente (Tenor)
L’Oste (Bass)
Il Maestro di Ballo (Tenor)
Un Musico (Mezzo-Soprano)
Sergente degli Arcieri (Basso)
Un lampionaio (Tenor)
Un comandante di marina (Bass)
Un parrucchiere (Mime)
Chorus: Soprano I, II, Mezzo-soprano, Contralto, Tenor I, II, Bass.
INSTRUMENTATION
3 Flutes (also Piccolo), 2 Oboes, English horn, 2 Clarinets, Bass clarinet, 2 Bassoons, 4 Horns, 3 Trumpets, 3 Trombones, Bass tuba, Timpani, Triangle, Drum, Tam-tam, Bass drum, Cymbals, Carillon, Celesta, Harp, Strings; onstage: Flute, Cornet, Bell, Drum, Sleigh bells (Sonagliera).
LITERATURE
Leoncavallo, pp. 61-63; Carteggi 1958 No. 39, footnote 1; Hopkinson 1968, pp. 8-13 and 71; Gherardi 1977 , pp. 281-289; Morini 1983 ; Schickling 1989 , pp. 82-108; Scherr 1990 ; Morini 1983 ; Scherr in Ravenni and Gianturco 1997 ; Fairtile 1996 ; Budden 1998a ; Budden 2002 , pp. 87-130.