The program notes said it all. Manon Lescault had 6 librettists before it got to performance. In the end, it was attributed to or claimed by none of them. I found that story line to be ridiculous all the way to the end when the soprano had her death scene on a desert near New Orleans, LA.
However, the music was superb. The Intermezzo between acts 3 and 4 was beautiful as was the Soprano's death scene music. I think that this Puccini fellow shows promise and we should look for more from him in the future especially if he can get a good writer for the book.