Seattle.(Manon Lescaut)(Opera Review)

Though Manon Lescaut is a tenor's dream and nightmare--des Grieux has great stuff to sing, but it is a lung, difficult part--the real challenge in this opera belongs to the soprano, who must grow from a giddy, luxury-loving schoolgirl into a woman who deserves our compassion. Carol Vaness's interpretation of Puccini's "material girl" sharply raised the level of Seattle Opera's production (seen January 15). Director Bernard Uzan clearly took his lead from her.

It may be a little late in her distinguished career for Vaness--who counts Massenet's Manon among her previous successes--to take on Puccini's Manon Lescaut, but the soprano's passionate engagement in the role was riveting. Few of the other singers in Seattle's cast met the high standard set by Vaness. Of the other principals, only Earle Patriarco, who sang Manon's brother, Lescaut, with great gusto, seemed vocally and dramatically at home in his role. The too-tight throat of Jay Hunter Morris, the des Grieux, seemed to strangle the very sounds that he was trying to make; Arthur Woodley, a commanding vocal presence, looked uncomfortable in his costume as Geronte. In smaller assignments, Daniel Aarthun made a positive if brief impression as the Sergeant; Doug Jones sounded better as the Lamplighter than as Edmondo or the Dancing Master.

The scenery, borrowed from L'Opera de Montreal, was a mixed bag. Act I resembled an old-Fashioned set for a nineteenth-century ballet. Acts II and ...