San Jose Escorts: OPERA REVIEW: OSJ opens season with the melodic wonders of …
The oldest opera argument tries to decide whether words or musical notes are the most important. In the case of the marvelous musical score of “Manon,” Jules Massenet’s masterpiece, there is no contest. It is the consummate genius of the composer, which carries the saga forward from the brief overture, through the rising expectations of the first act’s lurching coach and horses all the way to the death of the heroine.
France’s great 19th Century musical giant’s most popular of his 36 operas, “Manon” brings together a treasure chest of magical arias, duets, chorus work and orchestral interludes.
Opera San Jose’s two well-balanced casts of resident artists have brought to life a tragic story of a young woman who loses her moral moorings in the dissolute French society of the late 1700s.
It is centered in a Paris that is a cesspool of prostitution, drink and gambling coupled with the excessive wealth and fabulous homes of post-Louis 14th era. Manon is a young woman caught in this duality, which corrupts her first innocent love and too late is victim to her terrible choices.