Sources * Unless noted otherwise, the rehearsal numbers refer to the current Ricordi edition.
64. Manon Lescaut

64.A.1

I-TLp

Sketches and drafts for Act 1 on 6 double leaves and 6 single leaves, of which 30 pages in all are written.Note: There is also a leaf of libretto text in another handwriting preserved in I-Baf, containing a part from the end of Act 1 (from Geronte’s “La mia carozza” to Lescaut’s “Sono guardia del Re”), which was probably one of the many alterations in the text Puccini required during the composition.   
Since the leaves have no shelf marks, they are listed below according to their proper position in the opera. 

With the exception of 64.A.1/12 all of these leaves appear to have originated from the second half of 1889 and from 1890. 64.A.1/1, 64.A.1/3, 64.A.1/4, 64.A.1/5, 64.A.1/6, 64.A.1/7, and 64.A.1/11 preserved in this manuscript cover about a quarter of the composition draft for Act 1. 

 

1)

1 leaf, 4° with 12 staves.
Draft for fig. 27 – fig. 28-7, with 8 additional bars for orchestra and the autograph heading: “7bre [September 18]89 Manon atto I° / GPuccini”.

Perhaps this very early date (the only one appearing in any of the drafts) means that Puccini began at this juncture by notating the continuous composition draft, and temporarily skipped the previous parts.
Shortly before the end of this draft, Puccini took up the same passage again (see 64.A.1/3). 

Time of origin

September 1889

2)

1 leaf, 4° with 22 staves.
Diverse sketches for the first part of Act 1, portions of which were later used in the orchestral accompaniment.
The recto comprises a sketch of 8 bars for a “minuetto” (first designated as “Gavotta”, then cancelled), with the indications “per canto” and “Polacca”, as well as “Lento 2a parte”. The ostinato in the bass (bars 2–7) was used in fig. 11-2/1.
The manuscript also contains sketches of 4 bars of an “Allegretto mosso / do minore”, 2/4, and 8 bars for a piece with 4 sharps, 2/4. The first two bars of the second sketch resemble the transition used in fig. 10+4/5 of the opera.
The verso comprises a sketch (accompaniment only) of 8 bars headed “manon”, as well as a sketch of 21 bars for the first duet of Manon and Des Grieux (roughly between fig. 29 and fig. 30), but musically and textually considerably changed in the definitive version (see 64.A.1/3). 

3)

1 double leaf, 4° with 12 staves.
Draft for fig. 28-11 – fig. 32-2, probably written immediately after 64.A.1/1, for 64.A.1/3 begins shortly before the end of 64.A.1/1.

4)

1 double leaf, 2° with 24 staves, music paper from Ricordi.
Draft for fig. 40 – fig. 44-11. 

5)

1 double leaf, 2° with 24 staves, music paper from Ricordi. 
Draft for fig. 44-14 – fig. 48+6. 

6)

1 double leaf, 4° with 12 staves.
pp. 1 and 2 comprise a draft for fig. 48+7 – fig. 49+8.
p. 3 is blank.
p. 4 comprises a draft of 5 bars for the vocal line for the “Donne” (later changed to “Fanciulle”) in fig. 49+1/5 corresponding to the music sketched in the first two pages. There are also 8 bars comprising a draft of the orchestration.

7)

1 leaf, 4° with 12 staves, comprising a draft of 49 bars (beginning at fig. 50-16). 

With the exception of the first 12 bars, this passage was already cancelled before the first performance (see 64.E.1 in comparison with 64.B.1).

8)

Fragment of a leaf, but certainly 2° with 24 staves.
The recto comprises a sketch of 5 bars for the 9/8 passage before fig. 53 (heavily altered later), with the indication: “Attacca Duetto [a large question mark]” and the reminder to “trovare attacco Flauto [locate the entrance of the Flute]”.
The verso comprises a sketch of 14 bars + 5 cancelled bars for the orchestral passage beginning at fig. 52. 

9)

1 double leaf, 2° with 24 staves, music paper from Ricordi.
p. 1 contains Puccini’s autograph humorous indication of a cast list for a performance of the opera, with the title “Manon Lescaut / di G. Puccini / melodramma in 4 Atti” crossed out.
pp. 2 and 3 are blank.
p. 4 contains a caricature and some notes for letters Puccini intended to write (“Scrivere a Oliva / avvisare duetto / Sor Giulio [Ricordi] / Scrivere Soffredini chiedere / opere dove ... [illegible]” with the remark “Scritto [written]”). It also bears the indication “Duetto I° / atto / fare motivo / in Fa”, with a sketch of one bar of the motif beginning at fig. 54+2.
This manuscript certainly dates from the time when Puccini sketched the second duet of Manon and Des Grieux, for which he may have wanted textual changes from Oliva. It is also possible that Puccini retained this double leaf for other sketches, or simply that he originally expected to use it to begin writing the continuous draft of the composition. 

10)

1 double leaf, 2° with 24 staves (on Type A paper of 64.B.1); Puccini only used pp. 1 and 4 for notation.
The first page comprises a sketch of 16 bars, probably intended for the second duet of Manon and Des Grieux. It is written on 2-3 staves per system for the accompaniment with 2 blank staves above them with the indications “Manon” and “Des Grieux”. At the end, the last bar (marked “I° tempo”) is cancelled and Puccini wrote: “Forse direi di andare, invece che al I° tempo, al Si b, al La e fare di lì una bella e lunga cadenza = fine [Perhaps I would say go, instead of the I° tempo, to the B-flat, to the A and make a beautiful and long cadenza there = the ending]”. 
On p. 4 is the full score sketch of 3 bars with Manon’s text “(Ma [?]) donna che l’ascolta! amor! Mentre ha le stelle il ciel”.
Both sketches keep repeating the motif of the accompaniment of this duet (from fig. 54+2) and obviously were written before Puccini shortened it (see 64.B.1). 

11)

1 leaf, 2° with 24 staves.
The recto comprises a draft for fig. 61 – fig. 62+1.
The verso contains a sketch of 10 bars for the instrumental part of the music written on the recto. 

12)

1 leaf, 4° with 12 staves.
The recto comprises 2 bars of the vocal parts from the original version of the finale (fig. 63+ 31/32 of 64.E.1) with the autograph remark: “Questa parte serve per chiarire il confusionismo della partitura [This part serves to clear up the big confusion of the full score]” — certainly written after the completion of the full score in January 1891 (perhaps to make the copyist’s work easier).
The verso is blank. 

Time of origin

1889-1890

64.A.I.64.a

US-STum
 (

844

)

2 leaves, 4° with 16 staves (see 64.D.1 and 64.D.2) comprising a draft for the finale of Act 1 (fig. 64+7 – fig. 69-2) with numerous corrections.

This is a part of the composition draft of the new finale of Act 1, composed in the autumn of 1893 (see 64.E.3). It is clear that one leaf before and one leaf immediately after the present leaves are missing (precisely at fig. 62 – fig. 64+6 and fig. 69-1 to the end).
For a comment about the first three pages, see Bögel 1978, pp. 219-223. 

Time of origin

Circa 1893

64.A.II.1.a

I-Nc
 (

Rari 4.6.10.44

)

2 double leaves, 2° (38 × 27 cm) with 30 staves comprising 105 bars in D major, 3/4 with the indication “Tempo di Minuetto”. The last page is blank.
Puccini headed this manuscript: “Preludio Atto 3° (prima parte) Manon Lescaut GPuccini”, then crossed it out. The end also bears his signature, which was probably added later. 

 

It comprises a full score draft of the prelude to the original Act 3 (now Act 2), which may also have been the first notation of the full score of this act. The manuscript is undated, but was probably written between June 1891 at the earliest and the beginning of 1892 at the latest (see NOTES). 

Time of origin

June 1891-early 1892

64.A.II.9.a

I-TLp

Only one (torn) page contains writing, comprising an incomplete full score sketch of 4 bars for the first violins, 2 bars for the trumpets, trombones, and bass tuba, as well as two empty staves for the singers “De[s]g[rieux]” and “M[anon]”.

Musically, this passage roughly corresponds to fig. 9+8 ff. in Act 2 (the Manon and Lescaut duet), but the different indications of the instruments and characters’ names could signify that this sketch really belongs to the original Act 2 ( i.e. the idyllic life of Manon and Des Grieux). If so, the sketch would have originated from the second half of 1891 (see NOTES). 

Time of origin

Circa 1891

64.A.III.21.a

I-TLp

A single sheet of unruled paper, written on both sides.
The recto consists of 3 incomplete bars, with the indication “Con dolore”. This concerns a melodic idea for the beginning of the finale of Act 3 (from fig. 21+1). The verso comprises 6 bars of a passage from this finale as well (from fig. 24+3).

Puccini seems to have written these sketches at a time when he had no music paper available. They were probably scribbled during the first months of 1891.

Time of origin

Beginning of 1891

64.B.1

I-Mr
 (

N.II.9-12

)

Full score.
343 leaves, 2°, nearly all written on both sides, with a stamped numeration. Puccini’s autograph pagination is still visible on most of the pages and there is an additional numeration in a different handwriting at the top or the bottom as well. The stamped numbers were added by Ricordi, probably some time after Puccini’s death, when the manuscript was bound.
The autograph bears a large number of corrections, and some random rehearsal numbers added in a different handwriting. Likewise, metronome indications were, for the most part, obviously added later; many of them were changed in the first edition (64.E.1).
The leaves consist of the following paper types: 

Type A: 24 staves
Type B: 30 staves
Type C: 20 staves
Type D: 26 staves


Frequent change of the music papers and the various autograph systems of numbering indicate numerous phases of revisions.Note: Analyzed in detail, but not always correctly, by Scherr 1990  and Scherr in Ravenni and Gianturco 1997.   However, all of them were effected earlier than the first performance, so this manuscript represents the state of composition prior to the publication of 64.E.1.
For a better overview, the stamped numeration of the manuscript is used below.

Act 1:
The rectos of the leaves are stamped at the upper right with numbers 1-127; Puccini’s pagination (or that in another handwriting) at the top is numbered from 1 to 267, several pages of which were not numbered or not counted.
At the lower left margin of the first page, Puccini wrote: “Manon Lescaut / Atto I° / G Puccini / Marzo 1890”.
The music paper up to leaf 116 is Type A; from leaf 117 (fig. 62-3) Type B was used.
Leaves 23-27 make recognizable the revision of Des Grieux’s aria, “Tra voi belle”, which had originally been longer.
Leaf 62r. bears the autograph title: “(Scherzo) Manon Lescaut / G Puccini / 7bre [September 18]90 / Vacallo / (Svizzera)” at fig. 37. The indication “Scherzo” obviously was taken from Puccini’s string quartet model (see 56).
On leaf 104r., in another handwriting, is the indication “Nuovo”, meaning the reworking and shortening of the duet of Manon and Des Grieux (from fig. 55+8 to fig. 57+4).
On leaf 126v. at the end of the music is the autograph indication: “Fine atto I° / Gennajo [January 18]91 / G Puccini / Milano”. 

Act 2:
The rectos of the leaves are stamped at the upper right with numbers 128-261; the bottom of the pages are numbered 1-126 in another handwriting, then that numeration stops. From p. 88 at the top there is an additional autograph page numbering of 1-170; several pages are not numbered at all and many were re-numbered.
p. 1 bears the autograph heading: “Atto 2° Manon Lescaut G Puccini”.
On leaf 251r. at the end of the music, Puccini wrote: “Fine atto 2°”.
Leaf 252r. is crossed out and the “Intermezzo” begins on the verso; the end of it (leaf 261r.) is signed and dated “5 giugno 1892 / milano / G Puccini”, written above “Fine Ia parte / atto 2°”, which was crossed out. (So Puccini originally regarded the Intermezzo as the conclusion of what is now Act 2, and not as a sort of prelude to Act 3).
The music paper is used in the following way: 

Leaves 128-138: Type C
Leaves 139-149 (from fig. 4): Type A
Leaves 150-156 (from fig. 7 + 14): Type C
Leaf 157 (fig. 10-12/5): Type A
Leaves 158-171: Type C
Leaves 172-178 (from fig. 14+1): Type D
Leaves 179-190 (from old fig. 21-2): Type A
Leaf 191 (fig. 27-7/1): Type B
Leaves 192-206: Type C
Leaves 207/208 (fig. 34-3 - fig. 35+5): Type A
Leaves 209/210r.: Type C
Leaves 210v.-221 (from fig. 36+4):  Type A
Leaves 222-230 (from fig. 42+6): Type C
Leaves 231-249 (from fig. 44):  Type A
Leaves 250/251 (fig. 54+13 up to the end):  Type C
Leaf 252: Type A
Leaf 253 (Intermezzo bar 6 - fig. 2+1): Type C
Leaves 255-260: Type A
Leaf 261 (6 last bars of the Intermezzo): Type B

Act 3:
The rectos of the leaves are stamped at the upper right with numbers 262-301; the tops of the pages still bear Puccini’s pagination, numbered with several numerations.
The first page bears the autograph heading: “Atto 2° — 2a Parte — Manon Lescaut / G Puccini / — L’Hâvre —”.
Leaf 291r. bears the autograph indication: “Vacallo / 20 7mbre [September 18]92 / G Puccini” (after fig. 25+5).
Leaf 292r. bears the autograph title: “Ultimo fascicolo Atto 3° / di Manon Lescaut”.
At the bottom of leaf 301r. Puccini wrote: “Fine atto 3°” (which he changed from “2°”), and in the right margin: “Manon Lescaut G Puccini Vacallo Ottobre [18]92”.
The music paper is used in the following way: 

Leaves 262-283: Type C
Leaves 284-291 (from fig. 21): Type B
Leaves 292-301 (from fig. 25+6): Type C

Act 4:
The rectos of the leaves are stamped at the upper right with numbers 302-343 at the top, the pages were numbered by Puccini in several different ways.
Leaf 302r. bears the autograph title: “G Puccini / Milano / Atto 3° ed ultimo / Manon Lescaut”, and at the top of the first page of music (leaf 303) “Atto 3° Manon Lescaut / G Puccini” is repeated.
On leaf 343r., the margin bears the autograph indication: “Fine / G Puccini”.
The music paper is used in the following way: 

Leaves 302-318: Type A
Leaves 319 (fig. 9-3/+2): Type C
Leaf 320r.: Type A
Leaves 320v./321 (fig. 9+11 - fig. 10-1): Type B
Leaves 322-335: Type A
Leaves 336-338 (from fig. 19+2):  Type B
Leaves 339/340 (fig. 22-5 - fig. 23+3): Type A
Leaf 341: Type B
Leaves 342/343 (fig. 25-1 up to the end): Type A

 

 

 

Time of origin

Before 1892.

64.B.2

I-Mr
 (

Z III

)

Autograph changes in a copy of 64.E.4.
The cover bears the autograph indication: “Ultime correzioni / nov[embre]. [1]908 / GPuccini”. Nearly all of the changes and corrections are in Puccini’s hand. While the first act is only affected by the addition of some indications of crescendo and decrescendo, the following larger changes were made in the other acts:

Act 2: 

fig. 10-9: Manon’s ascending eighth note figure (“Ah!”) was changed to a repetition of the preceding bar (“vieni!”).
Old fig. 23-9/+2: Cancelled; the passage is marked “A” at the beginning and “B” at the end, so there probably must have been a separate leaf to replace the cancelled music, which is missing (see also 64.B.3 and 64.B.4). This concerns the shortening of Manon’s “L’ora, o Tirsi”, and the addition of the chorus. 
fig. 29+1: “f” in the accompaniment, instead of “p”.
fig. 30+4/5: The easier alternative (oppure) in the voice part was deleted. 
fig. 36+2/4: Des Grieux’s singing was added. 

 

Act 3:

fig. 22+3/4: Manon’s lower alternate notes (oppure) were deleted. 
fig. 24-3: Manon’s text, “desolato”, was changed to “amore”. 

 

Act 4: 

fig. 10 - fig. 16: Manon’s aria “Sola perduta abbandonata” was completely cut. 

 

Puccini made at least some of these changes earlier than November 1908, perhaps on the occasion of the first French performance on 19 March 1906 in Nice; at the latest, however, in 1907.Note: There is a copy of 64.E.4 in GB-Lbl (K.11.d.13), which Puccini dedicated to the singer Lina Cavalieri in Paris on 28 October 1906. It contains an abundance of changes and was obviously her working copy of the score. For the most part, the alterations stem from Puccini himself, but some may have been entered later in a different handwriting. The changes that are certainly in Puccini’s hand were made in October 1906 at the latest; they focus on expression marks in the Act 2 duet of Manon and Des Grieux. Only a few of the modifications in this copy ever appeared in print (even in the later editions). Furthermore, Cavalieri’s score contains considerable autograph cuts in Manon’s fourth act aria and the following duet, specified only, however, in later editions of the piano-vocal and full scores. So Cavalieri’s interesting working copy, like many other extant examples of documents preserving Puccini’s revisions, probably represents a view of Puccini’s intentions at a particular moment and for a particular performance.   Already on 13 January 1908, in view of the imminent first performance in Vienna, he wrote: “Ora io ho fatto, tempo fa, alcune correzioni e stabiliti i tagli, specie al 4° atto, e al 2° c’è un’aggiunta alla fine Minuetto, che desidero sia fatta [Now I made, a while ago, some corrections and established the cuts, especially in Act 4, and in Act 2 there is the addition at the end of the Minuet, which I want to be made]” (Carteggi 1958 No. 537). These changes were partly executed in 64.C.1 and all of them were published in 64.E.5. 

 

Time of origin

1906-1908.

64.B.3

I-Mr
 (

Z III

)

Autograph changes in a four-volume copy of 64.E.4a (q.v.).
Each of the four covers bears the autograph indication “per acc[omodi]. ultimi 19–9–910 [for final changes 19 September 1910]”. A leaf inserted after Act 2 bears the remark: “Partitura orig.[ina]le / mandata allo / Studio al M.° / Tenaglia il / 21–6–923 [Original full score / sent to the / Studio of Maestro Tenaglia / 21 June 1923]”.Note: Highly respected by Puccini, Raffaele Tenaglia had been an employee of Ricordi’s since 1913; later, he was responsible for their archives and the “ufficio riproduzioni”.  
Consequently, this copy was used twice for revisions in the years mentioned above.Note: See also Scherr 1990, pp. 73-74, in which the author erroneously assumes, however, that this is a copy of the full score from 1893, i.e. of 64.E.2a.   It contains the following changes: 

Act 1:
Numerous corrections of the instrumentation and expression marks, partly autograph and some in a different handwriting (probably Arturo Toscanini’s). 

Act 2:
Changes as in 64.B.2, also including a revised version of old fig. 23-9/+2 in a copyist’s hand- writing. 

Act 3:
No changes, which means that the small modifications of 64.B.2 were not included in this score (perhaps because they were already known to the publisher). 

Act 4:

fig. 10+6/17:  Adami’s new text was entered in another handwriting (pp. 683-684).
After fig. 11+9:  8 bars were cancelled.
After fig. 14+5:  Manon’s singing was deleted in 3 bars, and 13 more bars were cancelled, 11 of them for orchestra (old fig. 14+6 – fig. 16).
Before fig. 21:  12 more bars of the duet were cancelled (old fig. 20 – 21).

Most of these changes in the first and second acts originated in 1910, and at the same time served for the preparation of the first public edition of the full score (64.E.6). Some of them reflect the suggestions Arturo Toscanini made to Puccini in August and September 1910 (see Carteggi 1958 Nos. 564 and 566, and Ross and Berra 1979, No. 1). It is possible that they were already tested in a performance in Lucca on 7 September 1910 (see Pintorno 1974, Nos. 165, 265, and 266).
The changes in the fourth act occurred in 1923, right after the publication of 64.E.7; they were all included in 64.E.8 and 64.E.8a, but only some of them were implemented in the revised version of the commercial edition of the full score (see 64.E.8b). 

Time of origin

1910-1923

64.B.4

I-Mr
 (

Z III

)

Autograph changes in a copy of Act 2 of 64.E.4a.
On the cover, not in Puccini’s hand, is the remark: “Con modifiche dell’Autore [with the author’s modifications]”.
For the most part, these alterations are identical with those in 64.B.2. The autograph change of the passage fig. 23-9 ff. is also present (in 64.B.3 it was only inserted in a copyist’s handwriting). Additionally, fig. 49-7/+7 is cut, just as it was also indicated in a different handwriting in the GB-Lbl copy of 64.E.4a and published definitively in 64.E.6, but not in any of the piano-vocal scores. There are also numerous minor changes, not contained in 64.B.3.
This might be a preliminary revision (preserved only in fragmentary form) prepared by Puccini for the publication of 64.E.6, which originated between 1910 and 1914. 

Time of origin

1910-1914

64.B.5

I-Mr
 (

Z III

)

Autograph changes in a copy of 64.E.6 (with the blind stamp of 4.15), with the autograph indications “Mia proprietà [my property] / G. Puccini” at the top of the endpaper and, at the bottom: “Corretta 1922 / Desidero si corregga / definitivamente / l’incisione mettendosi / anche l’aria Manon / al 4° atto / GPuccini [Corrected 1922 / I want the engraving to be corrected definitively, also inserting Manon’s aria in the 4th act]”.
Fot the most part, the alterations are possibly in Toscanini’s handwriting. They include an abundance of expression markings and details for the orchestration.Note: See also Fairtile 1996, pp. 370-371.   In addition, Puccini wanted three more important changes: 

Act 1:

fig. 19-2 – fig. 21+2:  Reinsertion of the 36 bars cut in 64.E.6.

Act 2:

fig. 36+2/4:  Reinsertion of Des Grieux’s singing (as in 64.E.5, but cut in 64.E.6). 

Act 4:

From fig. 10:  Reinsertion of Manon’s aria (indicated by Puccini’s handwritten instruction: “Manca Aria Manon che voglio si metta! [It’s missing Manon’s aria, which I want put here!]”). 

The changes were obviously made in August 1922 for the La Scala production on 26 December 1922 (see NOTES). They were published in 64.E.7.

Time of origin

August 1922

64.C.1

I-Mr
 (

V.II.50 

)

Copy of Puccini’s changes in 64.B.2 (in another handwriting).
7 leaves, 2° (the rectos of which are paginated at the upper right by a stamped numeration), comprising many changes in Acts 2, 3, and 4.
Title in another handwriting: “Manon Lescaut / del M° / Giacomo Puccini / Modificazioni e varianti / fatte dall’Autore / da riportarsi / sulle parti di Piano e Canto — Cori — Partitura e Orchestra ... [Modifications and variants / made by the author / to be implemented / in the piano-vocal score — the chorus parts — the full score — the instrumental parts ...]”.
The modifications and variants in particular concern details of the instrumentation and vocal parts. They also include the more important corrections of 64.B.2. The page numbers mentioned in the manuscript for each of the changes refer to the copyist’s full score (64.E.4a, not the autograph full score, as erroneously recorded in this copy), and to the piano-vocal score 64.E.4. These revisions obviously, like those documented in 64.B.2, originated from the period 1906–1908.
There are also 3 more pages by a different copyist (numbered by hand and on a different music paper), containing a change for the instrumentation in Act 1. 

1906-1908

(Single pages from the full score, 64.B.1, occasionally reproduced in various publications, are not mentioned here.)

64.D.1

Copied source Portion Bibliographic reference Page number
64.A.I.64.a Bögel 1978

after p. 236, Anlage Nos 1-3.

64.D.2

Copied source Portion Bibliographic reference Page number
64.A.I.64.a van Patten 1950

p. 214

64.D.3

Copied source Portion Bibliographic reference Page number
64.A.1 Verdi 2004

p. 243, Fig. 2

64.D.4

Copied source Portion Bibliographic reference Page number
64.A.1 Verdi 2004

p. 245, Fig. 4

64.D.5

Copied source Portion Bibliographic reference Page number
64.A.1 Verdi 2004

p. 247, Fig. 6

64.D.6

Copied source Portion Bibliographic reference Page number
64.A.1 Verdi 2004

p. 249, Fig. 8

64.D.7

Copied source Portion Bibliographic reference Page number
64.A.1 Verdi 2004

p. 241, Fig. 1

64.D.8

Copied source Portion Bibliographic reference Page number
64.A.1 Verdi 2004

p. 251, Fig. 10

64.D.9

Copied source Portion Bibliographic reference Page number
64.A.1 Verdi 2004

p. 254, Fig. 12

(For a survey of the particularly complicated changes in Act 4, see Appendix.)

64.E.0 *

The classification of this music in this position and with this number is made because this is part of the full score that Puccini already deleted before he completed the opera (see NOTES).

Preludio Atto II. A cura di Pietro Spada. Prima Edizione.
Boccaccini & Spada, Roma, 1983.
PN 1110. 24 pages. 4°. 

Spada’s edition is not a completely correct representation of 64.A.II.1.a. 

64.E.1

First Italian edition:
Manon Lescaut. Dramma lirico in quattro Atti. Musica di Giacomo Puccini ... Opera completa per canto e pianoforte ... Riduzione di Carlo Carignani.
Copyright 1893.
Ricordi, Milan etc., 1892.
PN 95567, 277 pages, 4°. 
Registered at the Prefettura di Milano on 19 January 1893 (I-Rsc  105.B.28). 

 

According to MRL , production began on 17 August 1892; the engraving and printing were carried out act by act (see NOTES). The blind stamps indicate that the edition obviously was finished in December 1892, but that might have been limited to a few copies produced for deposits in the various copyright libraries. MRK  only lists 11 February 1893 as the first date of printing.
This edition already contains several changes compared to the autograph (64.B.1). They were obviously accomplished during the production of the piano-vocal score. Those alterations consist of smaller corrections in the part-writing and nuances for interpretation, as well as completions of some of the composition originally left blank in the first act. There are also changes of text and the following more considerable modifications to the score: 


Act 1:

fig. 15 – fig. 17:  Des Grieux’s arioso, “Tra voi belle”, was transposed down a half step, from F sharp to F major, with some textual changes as well in the words and the music (see Budden 1998b , pp. 8–9).
Before fig. 18:  4 bars for Edmondo were cancelled. 
In fig. 25+9:  1 bar for orchestra was cancelled.
Before fig. 26: 10 bars for orchestra were cancelled.
fig. 40+1/16: Chorus of Studenti was added.
fig. 47+12/13:  The insignificant part for the Maestro di posta (1 bar) was assigned to the Oste.
In fig. 50-4:  57 bars for Edmondo were cut (the new transition, fig. 50-4/1, was already included in 64.B.1 on a separate leaf). 

 

Act 2:

fig. 19-2: This bar for orchestra was added.  

 

Copies
I-Mc

Spartiti 992 (-) 

 BS 1.93
I-Mc

Spartiti 994 a

 BS 12.92
I-Rsc

105.B.28 

 BS 12.92
I-Rsc

17.B.10

 BS 2.7
D-Mbs

4° Mus.pr.2102 

 BS illegible
D-Mbs

4° Mus.pr.20184 

 without BS
D-Sschickling

64.E.1

 BS 2.93
GB-Lbl

F.860.a

 without BS

registered 13 June 1893 
US-Wc

M 3.3.P8M2

 BS 12.92

registered 21 January 1893 
US-Wc

M 1503.P977M5

 BS 12.92

registered 20 January 1893 

64.E.2

Second Italian edition:
Copyright 1893.
Ricordi, Milan etc., 1893.
PN 95567, 275 pages, 4°. 

This revision, based on the first performance and produced immediately thereafter, was announced in the Gazzetta musicale of 26 February 1893 (p. 158). MRK  reports 11 February 1893 as the first date of printing. The changes include an abundance of smaller corrections in the text, part-writing (mostly by adding some higher notes in the voice parts), tempo, and dynamics, but also several more important revisions. Whether they were already implemented at the first performance is unknown, but probable. 

Major variants (diverging from 64.E.1): 

Act 1:

fig. 2-7/1: The orchestra was changed and extended by one bar. 
In fig. 52+25:  7 bars for orchestra were cut.
fig. 55-5: Des Grieux’s singing was cancelled. 

 

Act 2: 

fig. 21+4 – fig. 22:  The chorus of the “Signori ed Abati” was shortened to 6 bars (previously set as 13 bars for Chorus, Manon, and Geronte).
fig. 35+5/6: Des Grieux’s singing was cancelled.
fig. 54+25/28:  4 bars for orchestra were added shortly before the end of the act. 

 

Act 4:

fig. 11+2 – fig. 12:  Optional cut of 23 bars in Manon’s aria “Sola perduta abbandonata”. 
Before fig. 13:  8 bars of the aria were cut (fig. 13+1/8 in 64.E.1). 

 

Copies
I-Fn

Mus.i.652 

 BS 8.93
I-Nc

Z.5.3

 BS 4.93
I-Nc

Z.5.8

 BS 11.93
I-Rsc

G.22.A.36

 BS 8.93
D-Sschickling

64.E.2

 BS 8.93
GB-Lbl

F.860.pp

 BS illegible

registered 15 October 1972
GB-Ob

Mus.22 d.827

 BS 4.93

registered 26 February 1968Note: Copy with Puccini’s autograph dedication to the conductor Marino Mancinelli, dating from 1893. 
US-R

M1503.P977M2 1893a 

 BS 11.93

64.E.2a

Manon Lescaut. Partitura [lacking a title page, reproduction of a copyist’s score].
Copyright 1893.
Ricordi, Milan, 1893.
PN 96389, 725 pages, 2°.Note: This folio conductor’s score was obviously among the performance materials theatres rented from Ricordi for decades. All bibliographical indications and paginations connected to this score were maintained by the publisher and it was apparently updated in accordance with the particular phase of each version. Due to the destruction of Ricordi’s storage facilities in World War II, 64.E.2a, 64.E.4a, and 64.E.8a are the only copies known to have survived. However, it is conceivable that there were (or still are) copies corresponding to other phases of Puccini’s revision process.  

Since the changes, possibly made during the rehearsals for the first performance (see 64.E.2 and also Scherr 1990 , pp. 66 and 68) are already contained herein, and according to MRL  the production began on 20 March 1893, this full score probably originated in the second quarter of 1893. Musically it agrees with 64.E.2, except:

Act 1:

fig. 60+5/8:  2 bars for orchestra 2/8 (in semiquaver triplets) replaced the 4 previous 3/8 bars (in quavers); this change was taken over into the following full scores, but not into the piano-vocal scores. 

 

It is incomprehensible why Hopkinson (Hopkinson 1968  , pp. 12-13) thought that this edition was identical with the latest editions of the piano-vocal scores (from 64.E.8 on). 

 

Copies
US-Wc

M 1500.P97M2

registered 28 July 1893 

64.E.2b

First German edition:
Manon Lescaut. Lyrisches Drama in 4 Acten ... Deutsch von Ludwig Hartmann.
Copyright 1893.
Ricordi, Milan etc., 1893.
PN 96463, 270 pages, 4°.

Registered at the Prefettura di Milano on 12 October 1893 (I-Rsc 103.C.30). 

According to MRL , production began on 12 May 1893. The first German performance for which this edition was prepared took place in Hamburg on 7 November 1893. MRK  reports 23 October 1893 as the first date of printing.
Except for some small printing errors, the musical content of this edition is identical with 64.E.2 

Copies
I-Fn

Mus.i.834

 BS illegible
I-Mc

Spartiti 994

 BS illegible
I-Rsc

103.C.30

 BS illegible
I-Rsc

G.21.E.12

 BS illegible
D-B

O.1772 (-) 

 BS unknown
D-Sschickling

64.E.2b

 BS 10.93
US-Wc

M 1503.P977M52 

 BS 9.93

registered 13 October 1893 
US-Bp

M.297.17

 BS 10.93

64.E.3

Third Italian edition: 
Copyright 1893.
Ricordi, Milan, 1893.
PN 95567, 262 pages, 4°. 

This new revision (again containing numerous corrections in the part-writing and expression marks as well as several alterations in the text), apparently was due to a proposal Illica made for the Act 1 finale after attending the Italian première of Massenet’s Manon (19 October 1893, see Carteggi 1958  No. 94). The rapid execution of these changes on Ricordi’s part is remarkable. According to the earliest known blind stamp, this new edition was already delivered in November of that year and MRK  reports 27 November 1893 as the date of printing. The opera was apparently performed for the first time in this version, in Novara, on 21 December 1893 (see NOTES). 

Compared to 64.E.2, the important changes consist of: 

Act 1:

fig. 40 – fig. 41:  In the chorus accompanying Lescaut’s solo, the male voices of the “Studenti” were cancelled.
From fig. 62:  The music and text of the finale has been completely rewritten (now with 108 bars instead the former 67 bars).

 

Act 4: 

From fig. 14+1: The last bar of Manon’s aria, “Sola perduta abbandonata”, was changed and 9 new bars for orchestra were added, with a cut to fig. 17-7, which means that apart from the insertion, Puccini shortened the passage by a total of 32 bars (the former fig. 14+1 – fig. 16+10). 
fig. 17+1/4:  4 bars for Manon and the orchestra were cut. 

 

Copies
I-Rsc

1.E.40 

 without BS
D-Sschickling

64.E.3

 BS 6.?
F-Pn

𝄞 4217

 BS 6.?
F-Pn

D.9949 

 BS 6.94
GB-Lbl

F.860.z.

 BS 11.93

registered 15 March 1965

USA holdings: see NUC NP 0634253 

64.E.3a

First English edition:
Manon Lescaut. Lyric drama in four acts ... English version by Mowbray Marras.
Copyright 1893.
Ricordi, London, 1895.
PN 97321, 304 pages, 4°. 

English and Italian text. 

According to MRL , production began on 14 April 1894. MRK states that the edition was printed for the first time on 30 April 1895. It was many years before a performance of the opera sung in English took place (in 1916 in Shaftesbury, according to Loewenberg 1943 , p. 603), so this edition was probably intended by Ricordi for sale in England and North America to enhance Puccini’s international reputation.Note: The first performance (in Italian) in the United Kingdom took place on 14 May 1894 (at Covent Garden, London), and the United States première occured in Philadelphia on 29 August 1894.  The edition differs from 64.E.3 by not indicating the optional cut in Act 4, which originated in 64.E.2. It remained on sale for a long time (with a few minor corrections in various reprintings), and only in 1980 was replaced by 64.E.8f.

Copies
I-Rsc

G.21.F.35

 BS 4.95
I-Fn

Mus.i.661

 BS 4.95
I-Mc

Spartiti 1712

 Ristampa 1979
D-Sschickling

64.E.3a

 BS 10.12
D-Sschickling

64.E.3a

 Ristampa 1979
GB-Lbl

F.860.kk.

 BS 4.95

registered 30 October 1970
US-Wc

M1503.P977M514 1893 

 BS 10.19

registered 21 June 1949
US-NYp

JMF 76-131

 BS 10.08

64.E.3b

First Russian edition:
[With Italian title only].
P. Jurgenson, Moscow, 1895.
PN 20093 – 20098 (individual PNs for each act and the orchestra preludes to Acts 1 and 3), 247 pages, 4°. 

Russian and Italian text. 
The edition bears a censor’s note from 25 June 1895.

Russia did not acknowledge international copyright. Therefore, this is probably an edition produced by the Moscow publisher’s own initiative. It was certainly of interest to Russian music enthusiasts on the occasion of the performances (sung in Italian) in St. Petersburg and Moscow (see Loewenberg 1943 , p. 603, and Marchetti 1973 , No. 183).
Small variants from 64.E.3 were probably publisher’s errors.
Slightly enigmatic is a difference from all other editions at the end of Act 1, where the last bar of the chorus (fig. 70) has its own accompaniment, while the original accompaniment is in the next bar, without the chorus, resulting in the passage being extended by one bar. 

Copies
GB-Lbl

F.860.v. 

registered 31 August 1963 

64.E.3c

Second Russian edition:
Manon Lesko. Opera w tschetyrech dejstwijach ... Russkij tekst M. Arzybaschewa. [The Italian title is also present.]
Musyka, Moscow (Casa editrice musica Mosca), 1969.
PN 5063, 235 pages, 4°. 

Russian and Italian text. 

The edition, essentially a reprint of 64.E.3b, contains corrections of the outdated rehearsal numbers found therein. 

Copies
D-Sschickling

64.E.3c
US-Wc

M 1503.P977M57 1969

registered 23 December 1969 

64.E.4

Fourth Italian edition:
Copyright 1893. 
Ricordi, Milan etc., 1898 (?).
PN 95567, 264 pages, 4°. 

This edition contains minor changes in expression marks and nuances in the vocal parts. As for the more important differences, it retains the changes of 64.E.3 in Act 1, but cancels the two changes in Act 4, thus reverting to the version of 64.E.2. Having attended many performances of the opera in 1894, 1895, and 1896, it is possible that Puccini felt obliged to make these changes, including the revocation of his former revisions. 

Although there are no known copies with a blind stamp earlier than 1900, this edition was probably already published in 1898. MRK  reports a printing date of 16 July 1898, and at the end of that year Puccini gave dedication copies of Manon Lescaut piano-vocal scores to his sister Ramelde and to the wife of his friend Carlo Paladini (see Marchetti 1973 , No. 228, and Paladini 1961 , before p. 53). They were certainly copies of a new edition, most likely this one. 

Copies
I-Fn

Mus.e.791 

 BS 6.04
I-Nc

C.S.2.5.35 

 BS illegible
D-Sschickling

64.E.4

 BS 4.00
D-Sschickling

64.E.4 (2)

 BS 7.06
GB-Lbl

F.860.mm 

 BS 6.04

registered 15 May 1971 
GB-Lbl

K.11.d.13

 BS 3.05

registered 15 February 1978

USA holdings: see NUC NP 0634254, 0634257 (some may also be copies of 64.E.7) 

64.E.4a

Manon Lescaut. Partitura [lacking a title page, reproduction of a copyist’s score].
Copyright 1893.
Ricordi, Milan, 1898 (?).
PN 96389, 725 pages (with internal changes in the pagination), 2°.

Because of the similarities to the version of 64.E.4, there are many reasons to believe that this corrected version of the conductor’s score (see the footnote to 64.E.2a) was produced at approximately the same time as the corresponding piano-vocal score.
According to handwritten notes in the copy in GB-Lbl , it was used for performances in the German and Czech languages. It might even be the conductor’s score used for the first Austrian performance at the Vienna Volksoper on 22 January 1908, possibly attended by Puccini. Furthermore, the copy in GB-Lbl contains the insertion of the change of fig. 23-9 ff. (like 64.E.5), as well as the handwritten cut of fig. 49-7/+7 (like 64.E.6) in Act 2. The first of those changes is also found in 64.B.2; both appear in 64.B.4. As with the other minor emendations, they were probably copied into the score at the publisher’s wish (certainly at different times). Consequently, between 1904 and 1914 this copy of the score was always being adapted to the current version being performed — to a smaller extent tantamount to the revisions designated in 64.B.2, 64.B.3, and 64.B.4.
This score also documents many cuts made by several conductors, probably none of which were specifically sanctioned by Puccini. 

Copies
I-Mr

Z III

= 64.B.3
I-Mr

Z III

= 64.B.4 (Act 2 only)
GB-Lbl

I.340.r. 

registered 15 July 1970 

64.E.4b

First French edition:
Manon Lescaut. Drame lyrique en quatre actes. Version française de M. Maurice Vaucaire.
Copyright 1905.
Ricordi, Paris etc., 1905.
PN 110900, 266 pages, 4°. 

Registered at the Prefettura di Milano on 18 November 1905 (I-Rsc 105.B.27). 

Musically, this edition corresponds completely to 64.E.4.
According to MRL , production began on 29 August 1905 and the edition was published in October 1905. However, it was publicly announced only in the February 1906 edition of Ars et labor (p. 176), probably in view of the first performance in French on 19 March 1906 in Nice (see Loewenberg 1943 , p. 603). According to MRK , the printing of the sales copies began on 17 January 1906 and apparently thereafter no other French edition was published (although printings up to 1927 are recorded in MRK ).

Copies
I-Fn

Mus.i.835

 BS 10.05
I-Mc

Spartiti 993 (-)

 BS 10.05
I-Rsc

105.B.27

 BS 10.05
I-Rsc

G.21.E.7 

 BS 10.05
D-Sschickling

64.E.4b

 BS 6.27
F-Pn

𝄞 2810

 BS 1.06
F-Pn

4° Vm.4 15

 BS 3.11
GB-Lbl

F.860.aa.

 BS 1.06

registered 20 April 1965
US-Wc

M 1503.P977M56

 BS 1.06

registered 20 November 1905 

Other USA holdings: see NUC NP 0634275 

64.E.4c

Second German edition:
Copyright 1893.
Ricordi, Milan etc., 1908.
PN 96463, 259 pages, 4°. 

Obviously the edition was not yet ready for the first Austrian performance on 22 January 1908 at the Vienna Volksoper (see Carteggi 1958 No. 537). It was, however, published shortly thereafter (as confirmed by the copy with the blind stamp 2.08 in D-Sschickling ). Very probably the printing date of 21 January 1908, recorded in MRK , concerns this edition. It has very few differences from 64.E.4: partly corrections of misprints, partly erroneously repeated details from the first German edition (64.E.2b ). 

Copies
A-Wn

M.S.7564 * 

 BS 1.14
D-B

Kp 262

 BS 5.13
D-Mbs

4° Mus.pr.5244 

 without BS
D-Sschickling

64.E.4c

 BS 2.08
D-Sschickling

64.E.4c (2)

 BS 5.09
US-NYp

JMF 90-202 

 BS 5.41

64.E.5

Fifth Italian edition:
Copyright 1893.
Ricordi, Milan etc., 1909.
PN 95567, 258 pages, 4°. 

MRK records the printing date for this edition as 22 January 1909, with the additional indication: “Nuova Edizione”. It contains the most drastic revision ever made in this opera: the complete cut of Manon’s aria in Act 4. Perhaps Puccini wanted to bring about a radical solution for the final act, which he felt to be problematic ever since its composition (see NOTES). Possibly this that was done right before a prestigious new production at La Scala (20 March 1909). He later disassociated himself from this violent cut (see Carteggi 1958 No. 781). This edition also contains smaller nuances and modifications of the expression marks in the voice parts, as well as the following larger variants in comparison with 64.E.4 (all authorized in Puccini’s handwriting in 64.B.2): 

Act 2:

fig. 23-9 – fig. 23:  The chorus of the “Signori ed Abati” was added to Manon’s singing; with 2 bars added (fig. 23-4/2), and 7 bars cut in the ensemble with Manon, Geronte, and Chorus (after fig. 23-1).
fig. 36+2/4:  Des Grieux’s singing was added. 

 

Act 4:

fig. 10 – fig. 16:  Manon’s aria, “Sola perduta abbandonata”, was completely cut. 
Copies
I-Rsc

G.21.E.9 

 BS 1.09
I-Mc

Spartiti 993 a 

 BS 9.12
I-Mc

Spartiti 993 b

 BS 1.11
I-Nc

A.2.13 (-) 

 BS 6.10
I-Nc

C.S.2.1.78 

 BS 1.19
D-Sschickling

64.E.5

 BS illegible
F-Pn

A.I.D.Mus.922 

 BS 1.21
GB-Lbl

F.860.ss. 

 BS 8.11

registered 30 January 1975 
US-Wc

M 3.3.P8M22

 BS 6.10

registered 19 December 1910

64.E.6

Sixth Italian edition:
Manon Lescaut ... Partitura d’Orchestra.
Copyright 1915.
Ricordi, Milan, 1915.
PN 115300, 464 pages, 8°. 

This is the first full score of a Puccini opera made available for public sale. It is also the first time the full score of Manon Lescaut was ever engraved. According to MRL , production began on 3 June 1914; MRK  gives 30 April 1915 as the date of printing. This score represents the current version of the opera at that time, although the last piano-vocal score was not updated for many years (see, for example, the 1921 copy of 64.E.5 in F-Pn ).
Corrections of the instrumental articulations proposed by Toscanini at Puccini’s request (see Carteggi 1958 No. 564, and 64.B.3) found their place in this edition.Note: For details of the changes in instrumentation, see Fairtile 1996 , pp. 362-365.   It also contains the following more important differences compared to 64.E.4 /64.E.4a, and 64.E.5: 

Act 1:

fig. 19-2 – fig. 21+2: 36 bars for Edmondo and chorus (immediately before the arrival of the mail coach) were cut.
fig. 24-6:  The orchestral accompaniment to what was formerly fig. 24-7 was can- celled and the following bar moved forward, so that the passage is shorter by one bar. 

 

Act 2:

Before fig. 4-16:  2 bars for orchestra were cut.
fig. 17+4: After the first eighth note, the orchestra accompaniment was cancelled. 
fig. 36+2/4: Des Grieux’s singing, added in 64.E.5, was cancelled again.
fig. 49-7/+7:  14 bars in the trio of Manon, Des Grieux, and Lescaut were cut (only in this edition, but already authorized by Puccini in 64.B.4). 

 

Furthermore, as in 64.E.5, Manon’s Act 4 aria (fig. 10 – fig. 16) was completely cut. Puccini later confirmed that he was unable to supervise this version sufficiently before its publication (see Carteggi 1958 No. 813), but this only refers to the nuances of expression (see also 64.B.4). 

Copies
I-Fn

Mus.O.71 

 BS 4.15

registered June 1915 
I-Mc

Part. op.a-39 

 BS 4.15

registered 6 June 1915 
I-Mc

Part. op.a-67 

 BS 8.23

registered 6 June 1915 
I-Rsc

101.F.46 

 BS 4.15
I-Rsc

13.G.18 

 BS 4.15
I-Rsc

G.23.F.19 

 BS 4.15
D-B

Kp 261 

 BS 4.15
GB-Lbl

E.1204 

 BS 4.15

registered 23 March 1917 
GB-Lbl

Hirsch II.745 

 BS 4.15
US-Bp

M.454.15

 BS 4.15
US-Wc

M 1500.P97M4

 BS 4.15
US-NYp

MSI

 BS 4.15

Other USA holdings: see NUC NP 0634259 
D-Sschickling

64.E.6

 BS 8.23

64.E.7

Seventh Italian edition: 
Copyright 1893.
Ricordi, Milan etc., 1923.
PN 95567, 264 pages, 4°. 

MRK records printing dates on 30 April and 31 October 1923. In this case, either the blind stamp of the D-Sschickling copy or the printing date of 30 April 1923 must be erroneous. There is also an earlier printing date of 30 April 1922, but at that time Puccini had not yet expressed his wishes for changes (see 64.B.5).
This edition contains minor changes in expression, and the following more important variants compared to 64.E.6: 

Act 1:

fig. 19-2 – fig. 21+2:  The 36 bars cut in 64.E.6 were reinserted (as authorized by Puccini in 64.B.5).
fig. 24-6:  The revision of 64.E.6 was cancelled again. 

 

Act 2:

Before fig. 4-16:  The revision of 64.E.6 was cancelled again. 
fig. 36+2/4: 

Des Grieux’s singing, cut in 64.E.6, was reinserted (as demanded in 64.B.5).
fig. 49-7/+7:  The bars cut in 64.E.6 were inserted again (although not explicitly demanded in 64.B.5). 

 

Act 4:

fig. 10 – fig. 16: Manon’s aria, “Sola perduta abbandonata”, was reinstated (authorized in Puccini’s own handwriting in 64.B.5) and, to be precise, in the version of 64.E.2 / 64.E.4, but without the optional cut from fig. 11+2. 
Copies
I-Fn

Mus.i.1340 

 BS 9.24

registered 31 July 1995 
I-Mc

Spartiti 1838 

 BS 10.23
I-Mc

Spartiti 991 (-) 

 BS 7.25
D-Sschickling

64.E.7

 BS 3.23

USA holdings: see NUC NP 0634254, 0634257 (some of which might also be copies of 64.E.4) 

64.E.8

Eighth Italian edition:
Copyright 1893.
Ricordi, Milan etc., [1924 at the earliest].
PN 95567, 263 pages, 4°. 

It is uncertain if this edition was published during Puccini’s lifetime, and there is no mention of it in Musica d'oggi . According to the dates recorded in MRK , printing may have been on 30 September 1924, 31 July 1925, or 28 February 1927.
This edition obviously represents Puccini’s final intentions (see NOTES). It conveys some minor changes of expression, and the following more important differences compared to 64.E.7, all (except for the last one) authorized in Puccini’s handwriting in 64.B.3: 

Act 4:

fig. 10+6/17:  The text in Manon’s aria “Sola perduta abbandonata” was changed by Adami according to Puccini’s wishes (see NOTES).
After fig. 11+9:  8 bars in the aria were cut.
After fig. 14+5: Manon’s singing was deleted in 3 bars, and 13 further bars were cut, 11 of which are for orchestra (old fig. 14+6 – fig. 16). 
fig. 18+5/6:  Manon’s singing was deleted, but the orchestra remained the same.
Before fig. 21:  12 bars of the duet of Manon and Des Grieux were cut (old fig. 20 – fig. 21). 
Copies
I-Mc

Spartiti 1874 

 BS2.27
I-Mc

Spartiti 992 a 

 Ripristino 1944
I-Mc

Spartiti 1948

 Ripristino 1944
I-Mc

Spartiti 2011

 Ripristino 1944
I-Rsc

G.12.A.6

 BS .43 (mostly illegible)
D-Sschickling

64.E.8

 BS 9.29
US-NYp

MS

 Ripristino 1944

Other USA holdings: see NUC NP 0634262 
Time of origin

circa 1924-1927

64.E.8a

[Full score, lacking a title page; reproduction of a copyist’s score].
Copyright 1893.
Ricordi, Milan etc., between 1924 and 1927.
PN 96389, 725 pages (with internal differences: pp. 280, 406, 407, 715, 716, 717, and 718 are missing, additionally there are pp. 280 A, B, C, D, E, F, and I), 2°.

This is a corrected version of the conductor’s score (see footnote to 64.E.8a). The labels of its three volumes already designate Buenos Aires as one of Ricordi’s branches, but not São Paulo suggesting that it dates from sometime between 1924 and 1927 (see Hopkinson 1968 , p. XII).Note: In Musikantiquariat Schneider, Tutzing, catalogue No. 383, 2001, p. 56, No. 380, this copy was incorrectly called the first edition of the conductor’s score of 1893.  
Apart from the passages fig. 24-6 in Act 1 and before fig. 4-16 in Act 2 (both of which agree with 64.E.6), the edition corresponds substantially to 64.E.8, but it manifests several differences compared to 64.E.8b (q.v.). The optional cut from fig. 11+2 and the “No!” in fig. 14+6 in Act 4 were (erroneously?) retained in this score. 

Copies
D-Sschickling

64.E.8a

64.E.8b

Partitura d’Orchestra.
Copyright 1915.
Ricordi, Milan etc., 1924.
PN 115300, 486 pages, 8°. 

This new commercial edition of the full score must have been published between 1924 and 1927. It bears the same addresses of the branches of Ricordi as 64.E.8a . The copy in US-Cn also mentions 1924 as an additional copyright year. Therefore, the announcement in Musica d'oggi of March 1923 (p. 104) certainly still concerns the previous edition of the full score (64.E.6), copies of which (according to MRK ) were apparently reprinted on 31 August 1923. Since MRK records the next date of printing only as 30 November 1924, Puccini probably never saw this edition. It is remarkable that it contains numerous discrepancies compared to 64.E.8a, which originated approximately at the same time, indicating that there must have been a separate redaction of the commercial edition of the full score. Some of the mistakes in 64.E.6 were corrected, and some expression marks were changed. As in 64.E.8a , most of the cuts in 64.E.6  were revoked in keeping with 64.E.7 and 64.E.8. At the reinsertion of Manon’s aria in Act 4, there are the following differences compared to 64.E.8: 

fig. 10+12/13:  In the text there is the former “Strazio crudel!” instead of Adami’s new words: “Intorno a me”. 
fig. 14+6:  Manon’s “No!” is preserved. 
Before fig. 21:  12 bars in the duet were not cut. 

 

Those were probably proof-reader’s errors. 

Copies
I-Nc

58 B.2.45

 BS illegible
I-PAc

11.Aa.72

 BS without date
US-Cn

VM1500P97ma 

 BS illegible

64.E.8c

Third German edition:
Oper in vier Akten von Domenico Oliva, Giovanni [sic] Ricordi, Luigi Illica und Marco Praga. Neue deutsche Übersetzung von Joachim Popelka und Georg C. Winkler.
Copyright 1893 (New copyright 1955).
Ricordi, Lörrach, 1955.
PN 129143, 263 pages, 4°. 

According to MRL, the edition was published on 12 October 1955. For the first time (?), it contains the names of the librettists (minus Leoncavallo) in a rather strange order and with an incorrect first name for Giulio Ricordi. In later printings, those names were omitted again.
The edition substantially follows 64.E.8, but in some details occasionally (and certainly erroneously) preserving the long-outdated state of the previous German edition (64.E.4c). Ricordi also published a separate chorus part with this translation and the PN 129144. 

64.E.8d

Manon Lescaut ... Libretto di Domenico Oliva, Giulio Ricordi, Luigi Illica e Marco Praga ... Partitura (nuova edizione riveduta e corretta).
Copyright 1915.
Ricordi, Milan, 1958.
PN P.R.113, 483 pages, 4°. 

The edition particularly standardizes the expression marks, especially those concerning dynamics. Also, several obvious mistakes in 64.E.6 and 64.E.8b were corrected (including the completion of the harp part at fig. 69 in Act 1; the addition of the 3rd and 4th horns at fig. 8-14/13 and the violins at fig. 52-12/11 and fig. 52-8 in Act 2), as well as the correction of the errors in Act 4 mentioned for 64.E.8b . Nevertheless, this edition also introduced several new errors. 

64.E.8e

Ninth Italian edition:
Dramma lirico in quattro atti di M. Praga, D. Oliva, G. Ricordi e L. Illica ... Nuova edizione a cura di Mario Parenti (1960).
Copyright 1893.
Ricordi, Milan, 1960.
PN 95567, 263 pages, 4°. 

Without citing any justifications, this edition contains small changes of expression marks derived from different earlier editions. It also corrects the errors of 64.E.8b. 

64.E.8f

Second English edition: 
Ricordi, Milan, 1980. 
PN 97321, 304 pages, 4°.

English and Italian text.

Apart from a few details, this edition corresponds to 64.E.8e.

64.E.8g

Fourth German edition:
Neue deutsche Übersetzung von Joachim Herz und Eginhard Röhlig.
Copyright 1893, Copyright 1992 German translation by Joachim Herz.
Ricordi, Milan, 1992.
PN 135942, 304 pages, 4°. 

German and Italian text. 

Catalogued in MRL on 31 March 1992.
Apart from the translation, this edition is identical with 64.E.8f.

64.E.9

Critical edition:
Manon Lescaut, a cura di Roger Parker
Due volumi: partitura e commento critico incluso
Ricordi, Milan, 2014
PN NR 139071, vol. I: XXXVII + 1-405; vol. II: VI + 407-624.

64.E.9a

Critical edition, piano and voice reduction
Manon Lescaut, a cura di Roger Parker
Riduzione per canto e pianoforte
Ricordi, Milan, 2014
PN CP 139704

Nota