“In Manon you have to play a lot and it is a challenge for me emotionally,’ says Ermonela. ‘In the last Act especially, when she is talking to Des Grieux, it is impossible to stay cold. I am always struggling to control my tears!” says Jaho
TIRANA, Jan. 23 – Internationally renowned Albanian soprano Ermonela Jaho received international critical acclaim for her starring role of Manon Lescaut in the Manon comic opera at the Royal Opera House in London, making every Albanian proud.
The British media was in general positive about Jaho’s title role.
“As Manon, Ermonela Jaho reveals a soprano instrument of immense vibrancy, clarity and beauty. She puts in a storming performance in ‘Je marche sur tous les chemins’, carrying off a wide range of vocal effects and sometimes paring her sound down to bring out the line as it might be spoken, yet still in the most musical manner imaginable., says Music OMH.
“The Albanian soprano Ermonela Jaho is always a joy to listen to with her high notes having an unsurpassed clarity and purity. By comparison her lower range is lacking in power, but that scarcely matters in this role, says Express.
“Ermonela Jaho, singing the title role in the Royal Opera’s revival of Laurent Pelly’s 2010 production, offers much in terms of looks, fragility and a wide-eyed innocence which soon turns to brittle charm. The Albanian soprano won a following for her interpretation of Puccini’s Suor Angelica, the title role of which suited her strengths better than the particular vocal challenges of Manon,” says the Gurdian.
The Telegraph was rather more critical.
“Ermonela Jaho, a house favourite after her Violetta and Suor Angelica, effectively suggests the wide-eyed ing꯵e sloughing her skin to become the glamorous courtesan, but her voice hasn’t the ideal lightness or brightness for the early scenes and her French is occluded. She improved considerably come the Cours-la-Reine Gavotte – her top register is glowingly full – and sang powerfully throughout the emotional final scenes.” it said.
Massenet’s classic opera follows the story of Manon Lescaut, a beautiful, impulsive young woman who falls passionately in love as an innocent teenager, before sacrificing it all in favour of a life of riches and luxury.
“The appeal of Manon’s story comes from her human desire to have everything,” says Ermonela. “She wants fame, she wants money, she wants love – everything!”
“In Manon you have to play a lot and it is a challenge for me emotionally,’ says Ermonela. ‘In the last Act especially, when she is talking to Des Grieux, it is impossible to stay cold. I am always struggling to control my tears!”
Manon’s next performances at the Royal Opera House are scheduled for January 24, 28 and 31 and February 4.
Born in Albania, Soprano Ermonela Jaho was hailed as a “revelation” by the French musical press after her debut as Violetta in La Traviata at L’Opera de Marseille in December of 2005 and has since gone on to debut at major theaters internationally including the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, the Metropolitan Opera, the Bavarian State Opera, Munich, the Staatsoper Berlin, the Teatro San Carlo in Naples, the Zurich Opera, Opera de Lyon, Cologne Opera and many others. She has gained international recognition as one of the finest performers of the role of Violetta and has also been praised in roles such as Donizetti’s Anna Bolena, Maria Stuarda, Massenet’s Manon and Thais, Marguerite in Faust and as Cio Cio San in Madama Butterfly.
