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Puccini’s Manon Lescaut coming up next in Metropolitan Opera’s Live in HD series

By Christine Anne Piesyk | February 8, 2008 |

The Met Live in HD continues its stunning season with the February 16 performance of Puccini’s Manon Lescaut at Regal Cinema/Green Hills Mall and Opry Mills, both in Nashville. Curtain is at noon central time (1 p.m. ET).

Manon Lescaut (Karita Mattila, above) is set in 18th century France; its heroine emerges from the innocence of girlhood to become the mistress of an old man. Her life spirals downward as she faces deportation and and becomes an imprisoned and despairing soul. The opera opens with a lush elegance of wealth and the highest social strata, descending by Act III to dungeons, doldrums and despair.

With the role of the free-spirited beauty, Manon, Finnish phenomenon Karita Mattila adds another landmark role to her Met repertory. When asked how she would describe the character Manon, Mattila said:

“…I think of this girl as a young woman of her time. I think it’s important that this opera is set in a particular epoch. It gives me and the audience a better understanding of what Manon’s motives are, what it means to be a poor young woman at that time. I feel sympathy. Of course you acknowledge the mistakes that she makes, but they’re very understandable. She wants to get out of poverty, and she uses the methods that she knows to get a rich man. She’s experienced in life and in misery, and she makes some crucial mistakes in trying to avoid being a poor woman.”

The story of the magnetic attraction between two young lovers is the perfect vehicle for the soprano’s exhilarating charisma, especially when matched by the ardent tenor of Marcello Giordani as Des Grieux.

The performance runs three hours and 45 minutes with two intermissions, which are filled with backstage interviews and and inside view of the backstage preparations for each act. inside peeks at the sets.

Music Director James Levine conducts his first Met performances of the work since 1981.

For tickets, call Regal Cinemas at Green Hills Mall at (615) 269-5910 (address: 3815 Green Hills Village Drive, Nashville) or Opry Mills at (615)514-3462 (address: 570 Opry Mills Drive, Nashville). There are no Clarksville Theaters showing this event, so opera lovers must make the excursion to Nashville to see these performances broadcast live in high definition, which is the equivalent of a front row seat at the Met.

About Christine Anne Piesyk

With 40 years behind me (Huh? What? How did that happen?) as a journalist, feature writer, investigative reporter, editor, and film/theater/arts critic, I brought my liberal New England activism to Tennessee several years ago. having completed a midlife undergraduate degree in community organizing and women's studies, and an MA in Interdisciplinary Arts. I am currently an MFA student at Goddard College. I served on Future Search Commissions for two colleges and an issue-specific commission for the City of Northampton, MA, and did minor undergraduate work in studies in urban planning and community development. I am a community volunteer and a member of FreeThinkers for Peace and Civil Liberties. I am a certified storm spotter. In my spare time (define spare time please?) I am a voracious reader, obsessive movie buff, classical music junkie; I also and design and make sci-fi/fantasy and renaissance costumes. I have an unquenchable interest in just about everything. I see life as an ongoing opportunity for learning and adventure, with the best things still to come. All posts by Christine Anne Piesyk as presented on Clarksville Online are copyright ©2006, 2007 to the author.

Email: womanspeak@yahoo.com

Sections: Arts and Leisure
Topics: Karrita Mattila, Live from Lincoln Center, Manan Lescaut, Metropolitan Opera, Music, Puccini

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