Puccini: Manon Lescaut

This disc has most of the right ingredients for a classic Manon Lescaut. Plácido Domingo and Montserrat Caballé in their prime were two of the loveliest Puccini voices of the late 20th century. Their Spanish temperaments only aid in conveying the passion in this story of a love that survives unpleasant parents, religious vows, and arrest, and ends without a shred of dignity in the swamps of Louisiana. The main drawback here is that conductor Bruno Bartoletti, for all of his experience, could've given a fresher account of the score and, in general, the whole thing sounds a bit studio bound. However, operatic decisions are made on the basis of voices, and this set has them. --David Patrick Stearns