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| Massenet's Manon, from its creation at the Paris Opéra-Comique on 19 January 1884 to the present day, has attracted many of the most illustrious and accomplished sopranos in the world. Marie Heilbronn was the first, soon followed by Sybil Sanderson. Some notable Manons have included Nellie Melba, Mary Garden, Geraldine Farrar, Grace Moore, Lucrezia Bori, Bidu Sayao, Eleanor Steber, Victoria de los Angeles, Licia Albanese, Dorothy Kirsten, Anna Moffo, Catherine Malfitano, Beverly Sills, Natalie Dessay, Reneé Fleming, Diana Damrau and Anna Netrebko. In 1974 Manon finally reached the stage of the Paris Opéra itself, with Ileana Cotrubas as the pleasure-seeking gamine.
What does Manon possess that draws so many premières chanteuses to what Musical America in 1955 called "Massenet's irresponsible heroine"? Perhaps we will discover what that is. Qui sait?
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