Jesus Lopez-Cobos - Massenet: Manon (2003)

Taken from live performances in Paris in July, 2001, the main draw of this recording will be, for many, Renée Fleming's Manon. Her vocal pre-eminence is never in question, with high notes blazing, the tone sumptuous and mannerisms kept in check throughout, but the first two acts of the opera find her curiously understated, and she never quite sounds girlish the way de los Angeles or Gheorghiu do in their recordings. But once the third act begins, she's magnificent: glittering in the Cours de la Reine scene, seductive in St. Sulpice, and tragic near her death. The whole second half of the opera is more effective than the first--taped on different evenings, perhaps? The finest performance here is Marcelo Alvarez's Des Grieux. Not only is it beautifully sung, with boyish charm at first, great passion later, but he's in complete control of the long role, with its soft sensitive singing and its more declamatory moments all in place, and his full, lyric tone is always a joy to hear. Des Grieux is impetuous and intense, and Alvarez gets it all--this is the best Des Grieux on CD, and that includes Alagna, Kraus, and Gedda. A nice, grainy-voiced baritone named Jean-Luc Chaignaud is Lescaut, and a severe-sounding Alain Vernhes sings the Comte des Grieux. The veteran Michel Senechal (singing professionally for 51 years!) shows up in a character role and the rest of the all-French cast, orchestra and chorus, are excellent. Lopez-Cobos leads well, although the lack of energy in the first two acts is still strange. The Alagna-Gheorghiu Manon on EMI remains a favorite, but Fleming is riveting once she gets going and you shouldn't be without Alvarez. --Robert Levine