GENRE Dramma lirico in quattro Atti
LIBRETTO Domenico Oliva and Luigi Illica, after Abbé Prévost, L’histoire du chevalier des Grieux et de Manon Lescaut
FIRST PERFORMED Teatro Regio, Torino [Turin], 1 February 1893
NOTES

                                                

 Manon Lescaut was Puccini’s first unqualified success. The score earned him his reputation as a successor to Verdi and also began to bring in handsome financial dividends. Puccini prepared six versions of Manon Lescaut for publication. Sibley Library has five of these. The musical differences between the first and second versions are relatively minor. More important are Puccini’s rewrites at the end act two and the trimming of act four for the third version. The fourth version combines aspects of versions two and three. Puccini never quite seemed satisfied with the fourth and final act, in which Manon and Des Grieux die in the “desert” near New Orleans. In version five, he shortened the act yet further and even completely eliminated Manon’s aria “sola perduta abbandonata.” He restored the aria in version six, however, balancing it with a few smaller cuts.


PUBLICATION TITLE Manon Lescaut Manon Lescaut Title Page 247 kB
VERSION Second version
TYPE Italian piano and vocal score
EDITION Riduzione di Carlo Carignani
PUBLISHER G. Ricordi & Co.
DATE 1893
PLATE NUMBER 95567
RICORDI STAMP 11.1893
VOLUME 275 pp.
HOPKINSON NUMBER 3B
GIFT OF John F. Flagg
NOTES Includes the cast of performers for the premiere.


PUBLICATION TITLE Manon Lescaut Manon Lescaut Title Page 180 kB
VERSION Third version
TYPE English-Italian piano and vocal score
EDITION English version by Mowbray Marras. Complete arrangement for voice and pianoforte by Carlo Carignani
PUBLISHER G. Ricordi & Co. (London)
DATE 1893
PLATE NUMBER 95567
RICORDI STAMP 2.1907
VOLUME 304 pp.
HOPKINSON NUMBER 3C (b)


PUBLICATION TITLE Manon Lescaut Manon Lescaut Title Page 186 kB
VERSION Fourth version
TYPE French piano and vocal score
EDITION French edition. Version Française de Maurice Vicaire.
PUBLISHER Ricordi, Paris
DATE 1905
PLATE NUMBER 110900
RICORDI STAMP 4.1906
VOLUME 266 pp.
HOPKINSON NUMBER 3D (b)


PUBLICATION TITLE Manon Lescaut Manon Lescaut Title Page 168 kB
VERSION Fifth version
TYPE Italian piano and vocal score
EDITION Riduzione di Carlo Carignani
PUBLISHER G. Ricordi & Co.
DATE 1909?
PLATE NUMBER 95567
RICORDI STAMP 1.1919
VOLUME 258 pp.
HOPKINSON NUMBER 3E (possible variant, omits Parigi in list of cities, omits Boosey & Co.)


PUBLICATION TITLE Manon Lescaut Manon Lescaut Title Page 157 kB
VERSION Sixth version
TYPE Italian piano and vocal score
EDITION Riduzione di Carlo Carignani
PUBLISHER G. Ricordi & C.
DATE 1943
PLATE NUMBER 95567
RICORDI STAMP 1.1943
VOLUME 263 pp.
HOPKINSON NUMBER 3F
GIFT OF John F. Flagg

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