Director David McVicar draws from his central couple, Natalie Dessay and Rolando Villazón, a pair of feverous, intensely passionate dramatic interpretations. Both artists, as seen through the DVD's intelligent and intimate cinematography, act superbly: the relationship between Manon and Le Chevalier is illuminated and dissected, its steamy eroticism and unpalatable ugliness thrown into sharp focus. Unbridled joy and heartfelt tragedy infest the drama, mixing like paints in a watercolour palette. There is no time for sentimentality.

Soprano Dessay, when not unleashing peals of thrilling, white-hot coloratura and caressing silky phrases in the opera's love duets, conveys much with her ambiguous, penetrating eyes and attractive, spindly frame; her treatment of the French text is also unsurprisingly excellent. In Dessay's beguiling performance, words and movements become one, and one is, without exception, absorbed and thrilled.

It was soon after this run of performances that Rolando Villazón cancelled his forthcoming season of performances, citing unspecified health issues. Here, the tenor seems decidedly unsuited to the role of Le Chevalier Des Grieux, the vocal lines often lying too high for comfort. Villazón must push hard, and his sound up above can be unrefined. He particularly struggles in Act III's Ah! Fuyez: it seems niggardly to point out, but one can find on the internet a video of Villazón performing the aria during this run, in which his voice continually and painfully cracks. Such moments are thankfully not present here.

Nevertheless, ignoring the various moments of vocal struggle, this is a superb vocal and physical performance, the tenor's singing fearless and committed to the moment, phrasing majestic and tonal colouring generally beautiful. Even when Villazón is uncomfortable with the role's tessitura, his commitment is undeniable. He also acts with all the conviction of Dessay. Samuel Ramey is an authoritative Comte Des Grieux, but his heavy vibrato is an intrusive blemish on his vocal performance.

Director McVicar provides sets of faded opulence, populated by sordid aristocracy and basely naked lowlifes. Behind the stage, an 'audience' sits on to watch and react to the action, perhaps implying an artificiality to Massenet's tale. At Act II's conclusion, Manon is unable to follow her departed lover, blocked by applauding, fan-wielding admirers. The staging can be cluttered, either with objects or people, but the visual tapestries are often memorable, and the DVD presentation allows focus to remain on the principal drama. Victor Pablo Pérez conducts a sensuous reading of the score, with the Symphony Orchestra of the Gran Teatre del Liceu.

  share with:  Facebook | Digg | other sites