Puccini’s ‘Manon Lescaut’ at Teatro Real
This fall, Michael Fabiano makes his anticipated role debut as the Chevalier Renato des Grieux in Puccini’s Manon Lescaut at the Teatro Real. It marks a welcome return for the tenor, who last performed on the Madrid stage this past January as Don José in Bizet’s Carmen, followed by an intimate recital at the UMusic Hotel Teatro Albéniz.
Fabiano has earned widespread acclaim for his interpretations of Puccini’s leading men, consistently praised for infusing roles often steeped in conventional romantic sentimentality with raw dramatic urgency. TheatreStorm hailed his Rodolfo as “soaring, viscerally thrilling,” noting his ability to anchor the character with an innate “core of desperation and jealousy” that roots the performance in palpable, gritty realism.
Conducted by Nicola Luisotti and directed by Carlos Wagner, this new staging is a co-production with Oper Köln. Fabiano shares the role of des Grieux with Jorge de León, starring alongside Sondra Radvanovsky and Saioa Hernández alternating in the title role of Manon Lescaut. The double cast also features Lucas Meachem and Szymon Mechliński alternating as Lescaut, with Alejandro del Cerro and Albert Casals sharing the role of Edmondo.
