This 1982 video of Puccini's 'Manon Lescaut' by Scottish Opera with Nelly Miricioiu in the title role provides a very rare early recording of her portrayal of Manon following upon her initial debut with the company as Violetta in Verdi's 'LaTraviata'. Both roles she reprised many times with the company and this performance appears to date from the 1st October in 1982, when Scottish Opera took this new production of 'Manon Lescaut' at the Edinburgh Festival on tour around the UK. The opera had apparently not been seen in Scotland for 30 years and even Alan Blyth (Opera) though preferring the Manon by Massenet (a role Nelly Miricioiu later sang with Washington Opera), rather than what he felt was Puccini's lessor developed characterization but said she had given "a sensual, seductive, properly nervous account of Manon's character".

By contrast a review by Elizabeth Forbes (Opera) at a later London Dominion Theatre performance noted that though the Manon in Puccini's youthful opera was very different in style from that of Massenet, both composer shared one quality in common the total commitment to their heroine. She commented Nelly Miricioiu made a fine Manon combining fragility of appearance with a firm strength of voice, as a Puccini heroine ideally should, and retaining the audience's good will however atrocious her behaviour, as the heroine of Prevost's novel must.

("Manon is a heroine I believe in and therefore she cannot fail to win the hearts of the public. Why shouldn't there be two operas about Manon? A woman like Manon can have more than one lover { ...] Massenet feels it as a Frenchman, with powder and minuets: I shall feel it as an Italian with a desperate passion." Giacomo Puccini)

Another review by Opera Scotland of the 1982 Edinburgh Festival premier reported. "The cast were excellent, led by Nelly Miricioiu, not yet known in London, following her excellent Violetta and Tosca with something more unusual. Her control of the pathos through the final scene was completely memorable "

Due to the age of the video and it being in black and white and with some dark sets, the quality is occasionally inconsistent. Given the visual limitations, an English translation has also been included in the form of subtitles.

Though this recording (from His Majesty's Theatre, Aberdeen) was originally taken from a 40 year old tape, the sound quality is remarkable for its age and does not detract from this historic video of Nelly Miricioiu in one of her early signature roles when first arriving here in the UK from Romania.

Note: One final note regarding the tenor role of Des Grieux. The video gives the cast list taken from the original production of the Edinburgh Festival and Glasgow. However the name of the tenor in Aberdeen is not confirmed for the moment, so it has been withheld from the video until further clarification is possible?.