Search - Jules Massenet, Michel Plasson, Ileana Cotrubas :: Massenet - Manon / Cotrubas · Kraus · Quilico · van Dam · Capitole de Toulouse · Plasson

A Reference Manon

The Cultural Observer | 12/24/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This Manon has long been overshadowed by great recordings with the likes of Beverly Sills, Victoria de Los Angeles, and Angela Gheorghiu as the opera's title role. Ileana Cotrubas was a Romanian soprano famous for singing lighter roles, most notably a Violetta with Carlos Kleiber on Deutsche Grammophone. I own that recording, and I find that out of the several Violettas who have turned the opera into fodder for the soprano voice, Cotrubas gives it a dimension and perspective that only a few singers like Maria Callas did in their career. She probes into the character like no other and dazzles us with coloratura that the soprano could call her own. She also had an innocent quality about her voice which made her less lusty but more feminine than Maria. These are the reasons why I bought this recording of Manon.



I have heard several Manon's, the latest being Renee Fleming's disaster on Sony. Her extremely mannered character and jazzy swoops, scoops, and slides are totally uncalled for in a repertoire where style is everything. None of that, gladly, can be found in this performance. With a voice slightly darker than Sills and a quality as smooth and beautiful as de los Angeles and a command of the French language than can put many French Manons to shame, Cotrubas is my reference Manon. She is coquettish, flirtatious, frivolous, and correctly sad and full of abandon in the latter acts. She shows Manon's development as a character perfectly as no other singer ever did in their recordings. She should be a model for all singers who wish to interpret this role.



Cotrubas is partnerred by Alfredo Kraus' De Grieux, who is perhaps the best exponent of a role taken by beefier tenors lacking in style and lighter tenors who ought to sing more Taminos before taking on this very passionate, poetic, and ardent role. De Grieux lies within Kraus' comfortable range, and I find that he brings out more colors and emotions with his singing of this role than other tenors. He also sings all of De Grieux's notes with a charm and elegance rare among the breed of lighter tenors that dominate today's market. The Comte de Grieux is taken by Jose Van Dam, one of the baritones of the last few decades who brought a special touch to everything he sang without the overly decadent mannerisms associated with Fischer Dieskau. I love this singer's work, and he perhaps makes this role more special than any other person who sang the role.



Michel Plasson, a French conductor who gave us some of the best recordings of his native country's operas, brings a quasi-impressionistic-Romantic feel to this opera, which perfectly suits Massenet's orchestration. This is the definitive recording of Manon, so grab it while EMI has it in circulation still."

Stylish Manon

Scott Jelsey | Houston, TX United States | 01/14/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Just received this set a few days ago - highly recommended. I love this opera - this is my third set and it would be hard to decide which is my favorite. I also have the Sills/Gedda and Gheorghiu/Alagna. Kraus just has such a wonderful style of singing Frnech opera - he makes the opera come alive. Cotrubas sounds very seductrive, if not quite as much as Sills. The sound (early digital) is clean and well balanced and Plasson conducts with a real love of the score. Recommended."