American Dreams

The action of Jürgen Flimm’s new production of Puccini’s Manon Lescaut – which recently had its Berlin première at the Staatsoper after an initial run in 2014 at the Mikhailovsky Theatre in St Petersburg – begins where both the novel and the opera end: in an America of the imagination. In place of eighteenth-century French society, we are presented with the exotic glamour of silent-era Hollywood in which Manon is an elegant starlet, Des Grieux an earnest film extra, and Geronte a mogul who makes and breaks acting careers with a wave of his hand. Yet while the setting proved a natural fit for the story and the production remained focussed and likable throughout, it was the two strong voices at the heart of the opera – Anna Nechaeva’s Manon and Riccardo Massi’s superb Des Grieux – which left the most lasting impression.

Mr Flimm’s directoria…