Manon

(Massenet) The vocally high-flying soprano Diana Damrau sings her first Metropolitan Opera performances of Massenet's beguiling heroine, opposite the ardent tenor Vittorio Grigolo, in Laurent Pelly's elegant production, conducted by Emmanuel Villaume.

"The temperature rises nearly to boiling every time Diana Damrau and Vittorio Grigolo are on stage together in [this] sensational revival... a revelation. It is the most vivid, exciting take on Manon at the Met in many years, and sets the bar high, early on, for the company's spring season." (New York Times)

"Ms. Damrau has quietly become perhaps the Met's most daring diva... She seems to live Manon, in all her shadings. Ms. Damrau could not possibly give more of herself as she charts the character's precipitous journey from innocence to experience to tragic demise... [Grigolo's] voice is clear and generous and his passion is infectious... [Emmanuel Villaume conducts] with vigor and a sense of movement in even the most delicate, reflective passages." (New York Times)

"[The] pairing of Diana Damrau and Vittorio Grigolo... brought relentless energy from curtain to curtain, resulting in one of the most thrilling nights of the season... [Damrau] reveled not just in the richness of her character, but in every twist, turn, and ornament of the music itself...The dynamism of [Grigolo's] performance was invigorating... The electric duo fed off each other all night, weaving a spell over the entire house."
(NY Classical Review)