Patricia Brooks - Massenet: MANON, Extended excerpts with Placido Domingo, Vancouver 1969, High Ds скачать в хорошем качестве

Patricia Brooks - Massenet: MANON, Extended excerpts with Placido Domingo, Vancouver 1969, High Ds

This performance is an oddity: all of Act 3, scene 1 (the entire Cours-la-reine scene) was cut and Manon's pair of showpiece arias was moved into Act 4 (the gaming salon at the Hôtel de Transylvanie), replacing the short trio Manon leads about the allure of gold. It's definitely a way to save budget in a staged production, but how strange indeed! I could have a long conversation about this odd practice. THE SONGBIRD: American soprano Patricia Brooks (1933 - 1993) was a popular lyric-coloratura at the New York City Opera. From her 1960 debut there as Marianne in "Der Rosenkavalier" to one of the divas in Mozart's "Impressario" in 1977, she took on 32 roles at NYCO including Lucia, Manon, Melisande, Gilda, Mimi, Fiordiligi, and Rosina, as well as Abigail in the world premiere of Robert Ward's "The Crucible." Violetta was her hallmark role with critics and audiences admiring her striking portrayal in Frank Corsaro's ground-breaking production that emphasized realism. Brooks was born in Manhattan to a cultured family (her father was an author and columnist and her mother was a Broadway actress and singer). Brooks was a creative poly-talent her entire life: she started as a piano prodigy, as well as a young roller skating champion. She also studied viola and singing. She danced with Martha Graham's company, and had stage roles in important productions of plays at the Circle in the Square theater in New York. Her operatic singing career took off at NYCO, which was her artistic home for 17 years. After she retired from singing, she taught performance and directed plays and operas at SUNY Purchase, then became interested in creating visual art. Brooks died of complications arising from multiple sclerosis in 1993 at the age of 59. THE MUSIC: Jules Massenet's "Manon" premiered in Paris in 1884 and soon became a world-wide success. The music and setting -- the French libretto by Henri Meilhac and Philippe Gille is based on the 1731 novel "L'histoire du chevalier des Grieux et de Manon Lescaut" by Abbé Prévost -- make it arguably the quintessential French opera (Bizet's "Carmen" is set in Spain, Offenbach's "Les contes d'Hoffmann" is set in Germany to stories by a German writer, as is Gounod's "Faust." And, of course, Gounod's "Romeo et Juliette" is based on an English play of an Italian love story). “Manon” is one of my very favorite operas! Manon Lescaut, the impetuous, socially ambitious convent girl turned exquisitely glamorous courtesan and doomed lover is a remarkable role for a lyric-coloratura soprano. And a notoriously long one with five arias (or more depending on how you count them) across a wide variety of moods, four duets, an extended death scene, and a few ensembles. These excerpts from a performance in Vancouver 1969 feature Placido Domingo as Des Grieux, conducted by Anton Guadagno. 00:00 Je suis encore tout etourdie 03:35 Voyons, Manon 06:58 On m'appelle Manon ... Nous vivrons a Paris (duet) 14:26 Adieu notre petite table 18:17 Pardonnez-moi ... N'est-ce plus ma main (duet) 26:23 Milles pistoles ... Je marche sur tous les chemins 29:10 Gavotte 32:00 Ah Des Grieux! (duet - Manon's death)