Massanet's "Manon"

Warning:  Those weirdos who find themselves disgusted at the mention of opera should not, I repeat, not read this post.  It contains material not suited for the uninformed and uncultured.

I watched the opera "Manon" last night.  I thoroughly enjoyed it.  It was the first Massanet opera I'd ever seen.  Both Natalie Dessay and Rollando Villazon were "featured" in it.  I love both those singers.  Villazon seemed to have some pitch problems, but it wasn't too terribly noticeable, and only happened in one aria.  He's probably one of the best looking opera singers I've seen.  Moving on.....

This opera included a ballet.  A ballet with 5 men and 5 women.  Where they got the men, I do not know.  Honestly, there's nothing wrong with what the men are doing.  It's just so out of the norm.  Wait, where have I heard that before?  I've heard that said about me many times.  I think it's wrong when people judge me for loving opera.  Should I be judging just because our culture say that ballet is not a very masculine thing  to do?  Male opera singers are somewhat stereotyped, but it's nothing compared to male "ballet dancers".  Maybe it's because when we think of ballet, we think of the little girls in pink tutus.  As a result, we think of ballet as a feminine art.  Is it?  It's an expression of emotion, just like opera.  Why should I judge?  Yes, the vast majority of them are homosexual, I'm sure, but putting aside that fact, what makes it so bad?  Is there something wrong with it that I'm not seeing?  Why is there such a negative connotation of male ballet dancers?  These are questions I ask myself.  I enjoyed the ballet, regardless of the gender of the dancers.

Natalie Dessay was a ballerina.  And evidently, a very good one.  She still looks like a dancer; she's probably one of the smallest opera singers around, which, I would think, gives her the freedom to play much younger roles- roles that require a lot of lifting.  That's just my thinking.  Don't cite me in a research paper.

The conductor of the Met orchestra  in this version was not James Levine, however, it was still good.  I believe this was recorded right around the time Levine's back surgery happened.  You can't really fill in for Levine, you just do your best and hope it measures up.  John Adams does not measure up to Levine, not even close, however, this conductor(who was not Adams) did a nice job, even if James Levine is still the best.

I think Natalie Dessay tries to make roles that aren't about insanity about insanity, and I'm sure this drives James Levine to insanity.  She likes "mad" roles.  Her interpretation of "Glitter and be Gay" from the opera Candide is way off because of this.  She interprets the girl as if she had lost her mind, when in fact, she has not.  Dessay still has a wonderful voice, but does tend to make mad roles out of characters that are not meant to be mad. 

I say all this like I know what I'm talking about.  These are just the reflections of a girl who loves voice, and opera in particular.  Overall, "Manon" was a very enjoyable opera.