In 1731, Abbot Prevost wrote a short novel about love, as it later turned out, for all time. It was called The History of the Cavalier de Grieux and Manon Lescaut. It told about the love of a frivolous windy beauty and a worthy young man devoted to her with all his heart. Details were scandalous, and the novel was banned. But he was read on the lists. And after processing, when the author removed the piquant details, it was printed twenty years later.
Content of the novel
The story is on behalf of the unfortunate de Grieux. He is young and inexperienced, but during his studies he acquires a true friend, whose name is Tiberge. This well-meaning and poor young man, after studying, took the dignity. After training, de Grieux is going to return to his parents and live, as it should be of his high origin. But he meets a young beauty, whom her parents wish to send to the monastery. Young people instantly fall in love with each other, leave for Paris and, without getting married, live together. So we begin to set out a summary of Manon Lesko.
First betrayal
De Grieux completely lost his head from a love for a girl and forgot about his loving parents. But once, returning to his beauty, he finds her in the company of a well-known wealthy farmer. Treason stunned a seventeen-year-old boy. This is a continuation of this story (a summary of Manon Lesko). And then the lackeys of his father arrived and took him home. Six months he, yearning, is tormented by love and jealousy, then believing that Manon loves him, then thinking that she forgot him. Tiberge arrives and persuades the gentleman to begin his studies in theology. So de Grieux again gets to Paris. He studies hard at the Sorbonne and almost forgets the captivating image.
Manon Returns
She is already 18 years old, and she became even more beautiful than she was. The girl begs to forgive her, for she loves immensely and cannot live without de Grieux. Of course, the gentleman forgets theology and all good plans and leaves with his lady in a small village near Paris.
We continue to outline the summary. Manon Lesko brought the money. She collected them for two years. But there was a fire, and everything burned out. The cheat introduces de Grieux to his brother, and he brings the young man to the gambling house. Winnings exceed expectations, and the couple again begins life in Paris in a big way. But here they were robbed by servants.
New treason
Brother Manon introduces her to a wealthy gentleman, ready to take her for maintenance. But another plan is born in the head of the beauty, which ultimately leads the unfortunate gentleman to prison, and Manon to the shelter for corrupt women.
Ending story
After a series of betrayals and twists and turns, Mademoiselle is sent as a fallen woman to America. A faithful and devoted cavalier follows her. In New Orleans, they are about to get married. But the governor’s son drew attention to her. De Grieux kills him in a duel. The lovers flee, but Manon fell ill and dies. Before she died, she said that she had never loved anyone except de Grieux. The young man is completely killed by his beloved death and is close to a similar end. But then faithful Tiberge arrives and takes the unfortunate man to France. His father died, and he meets only one soulmate - his brother. This concludes a very brief summary of Manon Lesko.
Opera by J. Puccini
Two years of work on the libretto and a year on the opera - and the composer puts his masterpiece in Turin in 1893. "Manon Lesko", Puccini's opera, was immediately recognized by the public and criticism. The author was 35 years old, and since that time all of his works have been delighted.
Below will be presented the libretto of the opera Manon Lesko. A brief summary of the four actions will show that the plot of the opera is in detail different from the novel by Abbot Prevost.
Manon Lesko, J. Puccini: Summary
The first action begins in Amiens, in a noisy square full of cheerful people. Appears a young, noble, but poor young man De Grieux. He is accompanied by a friend Edmond, who sings a frivolous madrigal about the joys of love and youth. De Grieux, who has never been in love, is joked with by friends. But a carriage appears in the square, from which a charming fifteen-year-old Manon emerges, accompanied by a teenage brother and old merchant Geront. During a joint trip, he decided to steal a young beauty and is preparing a crew for this. Meanwhile, De Grieux, who was startled when he saw Manon, nevertheless came to meet her. Young people agree to meet. De Grieux is in love in earnest. His aria, full of enthusiasm, tells about the charms of Manon: “Really, she is charming” (this aria can often be heard in concert performance).
Edmond tells De Grieux about the plans of old Geront. When young people meet, the girl performs the aria “You see, I am true to the word”; the young man quickly puts her in the carriage that Geront ordered, and takes her to Paris. The brother, who plays cards with enthusiasm, calmly and cynically tells the dealer that the beggar De Grieux will soon get tired of his sister, who loves clothes and entertainment.
Action two
The curtain rises, and we find ourselves in the rich boudoir of Manon. She is surrounded by handmaids who help her to dress and comb her hair. Mademoiselle Lescot could not stand the impoverished life with De Grieux, and now she is kept by the rich old man Geront. A brother comes and admires the luxury that surrounds his sister. In his aria, he glorifies this rich life that he admires. But in response, Manon speaks in E flat major about his longing for De Grieux. She is not happy with the madrigal (this is a stylization of the pastoral), which was composed for her by the hated old man. Geront enters with her friends and a dance teacher. Everyone is fascinated by her, and she sweetly sings the motive of the minuet. Finally everyone leaves, and De Grieux appears. “You, beloved, you,” Manon does not believe his eyes. They reproach each other, but ardently assure that their love is eternal. And here is Geront.
At first he is ironic, but then, when the beauty in the mirror shows him his old vile face, Geront, full of anger, decides to take revenge. And lovers agree to run away. A brother comes and says that they need to hurry, since Geront leads the guard here to arrest Manon for his dissolute life. She gathers too long, and the guard comes. She is being arrested and taken away, despite all the despair of De Grieux.
Here is a brief retelling of the contents of Manon Lesko.
Action Three
It begins with a short and frightening intermezzo. This drama is the way to Le Havre. The curtain rises. On the square in the early morning are Brother Manon and De Grieux. They are thinking how to rescue a girl from a transit prison. The brother offers to bribe the guards. Unhappy Manon peeps out from the window behind the bars. She, along with other fallen women, is preparing to be sent by ship to America. All her hopes are connected with De Grieux: "Beloved, you will save me." But all the women, chained, are taken to the square. Meanwhile, they are reading a list of those who will now be sent overseas. The crowd in the square is discussing this, she sympathizes with someone, condemns someone. Manon should be put on the ship. She touchingly says goodbye to her beloved and asks him to return home. De Grieux begs the captain to take him with him to be with his lover. There is a strain in his voice. The captain is touched by his pleas and lets rise. Running down De Grieux on the ladder and falls into the arms of a beloved. The composer masterfully intertwined all the musical lines, and they turned into a single scene filled with dynamics.
Action four
America. Manon and De Grieux in the desert. They fled from the city because the son of the head of the colony decided to take possession of the young beauty, and De Grieux killed the rapist. The evening is coming down, the night is coming. They both rave with all their might. Around there is no housing, no food, no drink. Manon can only go if De Grieux supports her. But soon she faints De Grieux, crying with fear for her, trying to bring Manon to life. When she comes to herself and sees her lover in tears, she says that his tears burn her heart. She asks for a drink. De Grieux, hesitating, leaves to find water. It’s hard on his soul: how will Manon endure loneliness there? And the unlucky girl, left alone, begins to rave. She sends curses to her beauty, which brought them both to such a nightmare. Manon is afraid of death, it is weakening and weakening. De Grieux returned. He did not find anything.
Manon asks him to hug her. She wants, if she happens to die, then only in his arms. The girl again tells the cavalier that she loves him, and this love will never die. De Grieux, sobbing, holds a deceased girlfriend in her arms. This concludes Manon Lesko. Puccini's opera is quite different from the literary original and the opera Massenet.
Musical means of the author
First, the librettists, at the request of the author, reduced the original text, making the plot a tense spring. Part of the opera episodes is filled with emotional uplift and melodic brightness. This tension of the soul is interspersed with a more calm development of music. In his opera, duets filled with feeling are replaced by passionate ariosos of the cavalier De Grieux and the penetrating complaints of Manon. The fourth act is all built as one big duet.
The first recognized opera by G. Puccini is the opera Manon Lesko, a summary of which we have examined.