The Davide Livermore production is the primary appeal of this Manon Lescaut DVD: dramaturgical problems are successfully addressed in an opera that can seem like scenes from the picaresque life of Manon rather than a cohesive narrative. My history with the opera started with a Luchino Visconti production, and yes, I’m bragging, but also making the point that this master director of stage and film did little more than beautify the opera – the major departure being to change the anticlimactic Act 4 setting, allowing Manon to die in a swamp rather than in a desert. It still strained credulity.

Resetting the story from the 18th to the 19th century, stage director Livermore intelligently frames the opera on Ellis Island, in the shadow of a particularly imperious looking Statue of Liberty, where the ageing Des Grieux (a non-singing role played by Albert Muntanyola) looks back to when Manon – like so many European immigrants, ill from their voyage – didn’t live to have a new life in America. Video elements include vintage photos of anxious Ellis Island faces. Undulating ocean waves are a frequent backdrop. And when ageing Des Grieux visits other periods of Manon’s life as a passive observer, he is a welcome, constant factor in a libretto that can reveal its patchwork gestation all too readily, as dramatic episodes seem tacked on to each other’s coat tails.

The narrative continuity is further enhanced by visual unity: the production confines the opera to indoor locations in a unit set (designed by Livermore and Gio Forma) with a muted colour palette, something like the rainy-day-in-Paris paintings of Gustave Caillebotte. Even during the good times in Manon’s convent-to-courtesan progression, dark edges suggest that her hard fall from grace is just around the corner. A near-life-size locomotive brings her on stage in Act 1 while an ocean liner takes her away in Act 3 – great theatrical moments that underscore the idea that Manon is navigating a world full of forces way beyond control.

The casting? Well, it’s vocal rather than visually orientated. Though charismatic Jonas Kaufmann may be the Des Grieux of choice on the DVD from the Royal Opera (Sony, 11/15), one‑time Rossini specialist Gregory Kunde (also the most dashing tenor out there not so long ago) was in his mid-60s when this 2018 performance was shot. He was not trying to pass himself off as a student-age Des Grieux, but his evolution into a full-fledged spinto tenor was complete. He isn’t quite warmed up for his big Act 1 aria ‘Donna non vidi mai’, though when he hits his stride in the middle of Act 2, one realises that this is a rare chance to hear a Puccini tenor with an accumulated wisdom that allows him to illuminate the slightest emotional shift.

Liudmyla Monastyrska (Manon) presents different challenges: age-wise, she is in the right ballpark (by operatic standards) but is sometimes so concerned with creating an illusion of glamour that she forgets to be likeable. Also, with the production having originated at San Carlo, the Manon photos carried by Muntanyola in no way resemble the Manon on stage. Vocally, Monastyrska seems to be a mezzo in disguise. It’s a rich, alluring sound, though she only seems comfortable in the soprano zone while singing soft. The sometimes-cut Act 4 ‘Sola, perduta, abbandonata’ is as affecting as any rendition I’ve heard. Supporting characters look and sound appropriate, especially Carlos Chausson as the duped but vengeful Geronte. The Gran Teatre del Liceu’s orchestra is fully committed under Emmanuel Villaume. While this DVD isn’t a first choice, it points a way forwards for one of the few major Puccini operas that truly needs help.