Soprano Maria José Siri finishes Manon Lescaut seated after slipping on nude torso
The Puccini Festival at Torre del Lago saw the opening of Manon Lescaut, the last opera of the 2025 open-air season, on Saturday 30 August. Giacomo Puccini wrote the opera at his home in Torre del Lago in 1893.
Designer Igor Mitoraj’s sculpture for the final act is of an enormous nude male torso, leaving little to the imagination, as can be seen in the accompanying photos. During the scene, Manon gets slowly drawn towards the giant genitals.
Soprano Maria José Siri was getting into position on top of the torso for the last act when she slipped. After first aid and an unscheduled fifteen-minute break, the soprano decided to finish the opera seated in front of the sculpture.
Greeted by thunderous applause, Maria Josè Siri went on to sing the final duet with Luciano Ganci, adapting Daniele De Plano’s staging as they went along.
Puccini was born in nearby Lucca in 1858, and from 1891, Torre del Lago was the summer home for the Puccini family, and became the composer’s refuge. He was attracted by the silence of this hamlet on the lake with only 120 inhabitants and 12 houses.
Many Puccini operas were composed in his villa, now a museum: Manon Lescaut (1893), La Bohème (1896), Tosca (1900), Madame Butterfly (1904), La Fanciulla del West (1910), La Rondine (1917), and Il Trittico (1918).
Manon Lescaut continues until 6 September.
Graham Spicer, aka ‘Gramilano’, is a writer, director and photographer based in Milan. He was a regular columnist for Opera Now magazine and wrote for the BBC until transferring to Italy. His articles have appeared in various publications from Woman’s Weekly to Gay Times, and he wrote the Danza in Italia column for Dancing Times magazine. Graham was the historical advisor on Codice Carla, the 2023 documentary on Carla Fracci.
Graham also works as a dance photographer, and his photos have appeared in many books, theatre programmes, and magazines, including Dancing Times, Dance Spirit and Ballet2000, as well as all the major Italian newspapers.
He is a member of the Dance Section of The Critics’ Circle.
She wouldn’t be the first soprano to have trouble with her balance after an encounter with a giant penis. But it’s the tenor I feel sorry for, having to sing Puccini’s toughest tenor role up against an invidious visual comparison. Torrid del lago indeed…..
Great reply!