Boulevard Solitude

Boulevard Solitude
Opera by Hans Werner Henze
The composer in 1960
Description	Lyrisches Drama
Librettist	Grete Weil
Language	German
Based on	Prévost's Manon Lescaut
Premiere	17 February 1952 (1952-02-17) Landestheater Hannover

Boulevard Solitude is a Lyrisches Drama (lyric drama) or opera in one act by Hans Werner Henze to a German libretto by Grete Weil after the play by Walter Jockisch, in its turn a modern retelling of François Prévost's Manon Lescaut. The piece is a reworking of the Manon Lescaut story, already adapted operatically by Auber, Massenet and Puccini, and here relocated to Paris after the Second World War where, as is noted in Grove, the focus of the story moves away from Manon and towards Armand des Grieux. It became Henze’s first fully-fledged opera. The work stands out for its strong jazz influences, from a composer who had hitherto been associated with twelve tone technique.

The premiere was given on 17 February 1952, at the Landestheater Hannover.

Although it never became part of the core operatic repertoire, Boulevard Solitude continued to receive performances after the premiere. It was given in both Naples and Rome in 1954 and it received its UK premiere in London by the New Opera Company at Sadler's Wells in 1962 where the cast included Peter Glossop and April Cantelo. The first performance in the United States was at The Santa Fe Opera in 1967.

The opera continues to be performed and is popular with audiences, with a London revival in 2001 going on to sell heavily despite much negative critical reception and attacks from the tabloid press. A new production by Welsh National Opera in 2014 was also well received.

The student Armand des Grieux meets a young woman by the name of Manon Lescaut, who is being brought to boarding school in Lausana by her brother. Armand instantly falls in love with Manon, and the two run off to Paris together.