If Puccini knew one thing, it’s that nobody got rich by underestimating the public appetite for sex and seediness. In order to make his mark on the operatic world he took the bold decision to ...

Dallas Opera's Gregory Kunde and Kristin Lewis perform in a dress rehearsal of Puccini's Manon Lescaut at the Winspear Opera House in Dallas on Feb. 27. (Lawrence Jenkins / Special Contributor) The ...

Kristine Opolais in Act 2 of ‘Manon Lescaut’ (all photos by Ken Howard, courtesy Metropolitan Opera) (click to enlarge) The Met’s new production of Puccini’s Manon Lescaut, directed by Richard Eyre, ...

First impressions are important, but they shouldn't lead to snap judgment. It is usually wiser to stop and think, but in the world of opera – especially Puccini – lovers tend to fall in love at first ...

On the minus side, any contemporary rendering of a slight-ish melodrama adapted from Abbé Prévost’s 1731 novel goes against the grain of the depicted attempts to send our pleasure-loving young heroine ...

Kent has taken on the laudable task of updating the opera, moving the action away from its 18th century setting to find contemporary resonances. But there are big problems: no one sends their ...