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Teatr Wielki Poznań

Conductor

Conductor (+1)

Marco Guidarini

Stage director

Stage director (+2)

Gerard Jones

Set designer

Set designer (+1)

Blanca Añón

Lighting designer

Marc Gonzalo

Costume designer

Donna Raphael

Chorusmaster

Chorusmaster (+3)

Mariusz Otto

Assistant Conductor

Wiktor Kozłowski

Assistant Stage Director

Tenor (+3)

Bartłomiej Szczeszek

Soprano

Iwona Sobotka

Manon Lescaut

Yuliia Alieksieieva

Tenor (+1)

Dominik Sutowicz

The knight René Des Grieux

Tenor

Max Jota

Baritone (+3)

Mateusz Ługowski

Lescaut

Baritone (+6)

Jaromir Trafankowski

Bass (+2)

Damian Konieczek

Geronte de Revoir

Bass (+4)

Rafał Korpik

Piotr Friebe

Edmond

Piotr Kalina

Baritone (+2)

Michał Korzeniowski

An innkeeper

The dance master

Mezzo-soprano (+1)

Laura Wąsek

A singer

Tomasz Mazur

Sergeant of the Archers

Tenor (+5)

Marek Szymański

A lamplighter

Actor

Marian Kulczyński

Aktorzy

Choreographer (+1)

Andrzej Płatek

Orchestra

Orkiestra Teatru Wielkiego w Poznaniu

Chorus

chór Teatru Wielkiego w Poznaniu

Manon Lescaut protracts between excess and absence. The libretto was created by seven persons altogether: Ruggero Leoncavallo, Marco Praga, Giuseppe Giacosa, Domenico Oliva, Luigi Illica, as well as Giacomo Puccini himself and his publisher Giulio Ricordi. The case was so complicated that a decision was made not to put any name on the title page of the published score. The protagonist herself is also fluctuating between possession and lack thereof. Whatever she has, she loses in a flash. When she has everything, she feels suffocated with the abundance and recalls her inherent lover. When she is to leave with him, she is unable to give up her jewels. This desire leads her from luxury to a place where there is nothing – to the desert, where Manon dies of thirst. There is no water but there is love; some would say – nothing, others – everything.

A great recommendation for fans of consumerism and minimalism – everybody will find something for themselves here.

They say love has many names, and as we learn from the story of Manon Lescaut's libretto, you sometimes need as many as eight people to describe a feeling that goes beyond the boundaries of property. This many people struggled to translate Prévost's novel into the language of the opera. Puccini was involved both in the creation of music and the libretto. As he said when he started composing, "I will feel it (...) with a passion of despair." His passion was passed on to the titular character.
This breathtaking story about obsession and abundance directed by Gerard Jones won the appreciation of the jury of the International Opera-directing Prize.

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