“My mouth is an altar where your kiss is god!”
From a big love duet in Puccini's much-overlooked opera Manon Lescaut, and a high point in the life of The Silliest Girl in the collection of Very Silly Girls in Literature. Poor little Manon not only tosses over life with the young, handsome, devoted des Grieux for a life of riches, BUT ALSO manages to mess things up with her rich lover too. Silly, silly girl!
I think the reason this opera is not often performed is the challenge involved in making the title character more heart-breaking than irritating. A good production can do this, bringing out her inexperience and endearing foolishness. A bad one is just a horrible experience. The music is unabashedly romantic and Puccini provides YET ANOTHER love duet that is basically sex-disguised-as-music.
6 comments:
I love your discription of Puccini's music :):)...so true!!
Oh...and I have to know how you cut your toast into "soldiers"...you mentioned that before and I was befuddled! ;)
Now I have to dig up my Gosford Park sound track. Love Patrick Doyle's work here. WT sings the "Duke" song! ;D
But when you think about it most operatic characters and plots are silly, it the music that makes it. Lyric Opera staged this one a few seasons back. Wasn't in my subscription package.
Pic of soldiers coming tomorrow! Hee hee. They're just toast cut into strip. Also called "fingers." Yummy either way dipped into lightly salted, soft-boiled egg.
Glamah: Yes, often silly, but often not really but just played that way. For me great opera is good theatre first. I'd rather lose some quality in the singing and gain the real drama than have a beautiful voice and a dull performance. A controversial subject I know. Lucky you so close to the Lyric! I visit Chicago this Fall and shall see if anything is playing at the time.
Willow ~ my dad sings the "And her mother came too" song. I was raised on Ivor Novello in the background, well, him and Richard Tauber. And Jeremy Northam as Ivor Novello was such a treat.
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