Jules Massenet

Manon

Mar 12 – Apr 8

Tickets from $33.00 |

Price includes $10.00 fee

Following her radiant turn in Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette—which garnered raves for “high notes that spun like liquid gold … Sierra touched the operatic firmament” (The New York Times)—superstar soprano Nadine Sierra takes on another alluring French heroine, the irresistible title character of Massenet’s passionate drama. Leading tenor Matthew Polenzani is her idealistic lover, the Chevalier des Grieux, with rising-star baritone Andrzej Filończyk as her stalwart cousin, Lescaut, in a breathtaking Belle Époque staging by director Laurent Pelly.

Please note that video cameras will be in operation during the March 30 and April 3 performances, as part of The Met: Live in HD series of cinema transmissions.

A co-production of the Metropolitan Opera; The Royal Opera, Covent Garden, London; Teatro alla Scala, Milan; and Théâtre du Capitole de Toulouse

Production a gift of The Sybil B. Harrington Endowment Fund

The Met gratefully acknowledges the support of Elizabeth M. and Jean-Marie R. Eveillard, and Marina Kellen French

Sung In

French

Met Titles In

  • English
  • German
  • Spanish
  • French

Estimated Run Time

3 hrs 55 mins

House Opens

Acts I & II

105 mins

Intermission

30 mins

Act III

35 mins

Intermission

30 mins

Acts IV & V

40 mins

Opera Ends

Cast

Yves Abel

Conductor

Yves Abel

Performing

All Dates
Nadine Sierra

Manon

Nadine Sierra

Performing

All Dates
Matthew Polenzani

Chevalier des Grieux

Matthew Polenzani

Performing

All Dates
Carlo Bosi

Guillot de Morfontaine

Carlo Bosi

Performing

All Dates
Andrzej Filończyk

Lescaut

Andrzej Filończyk

Performing

All Dates
Rod Gilfry

de Brétigny

Rod Gilfry

Performing

All Dates
Jean Teitgen

Comte des Grieux

Jean Teitgen

Performing

All Dates

World premiere: Opéra-Comique, Paris, 1884. A sublime take on the quintessentially French tale of the beautiful young woman who is incapable of forsaking both love and luxury, Massenet’s Manon features one of the truly unforgettable, irresistible, and archetypal female characters in opera. While the story is firmly set in class and gender issues of the past, the character of Manon herself is timeless, convincing, and familiar. The opera has been a success ever since its premiere, championed by a diverse roster of singers who have cherished its dramatic opportunities, exalted style, and ravishing music.

Creators

Jules Massenet (1842–1912), a French composer wildly popular in his day, was noted for his operas, songs, and oratorios. While Manon has maintained a steady place in the repertory, in recent decades, several of his other operas, especially Werther (1892) and Thaïs (1894), have been performed more frequently. His librettists for Manon were Henri Meilhac (1831–97) and Philippe Gille (1831–1901), who adapted the hugely influential novel L’Histoire du Chevalier des Grieux et de Manon Lescaut by the colorful Abbé Prévost (1697–1763).

  • composer

    Jules Massenet

Production

Laurent Pelly

SET DESIGNER

Chantal Thomas

COSTUME DESIGNER

Laurent Pelly

LIGHTING DESIGNER

Joël Adam

CHOREOGRAPHER

Lionel Hoche

C. Graham Berwind, III Chorus Director

Tilman Michael

Setting

The opera is set in and around Paris, with familiar landmarks such as the church of St. Sulpice forming important reference points in the story. The opera was originally set in the early 18th century, but the Met’s current production places the story in the late 19th century, the so-called “Belle Époque” and the time when the opera was written.

Music

Massenet’s score captures the drama of his most memorable heroine with deft craftsmanship, expressive vocal and orchestral writing, and an almost unparalleled level of sensuality. There is no shortage of passion, but much of the music’s romance is different from what one would expect in an Italian opera, or even a more earthy French work such as Bizet’s Carmen. Some of the most dramatically (and erotically) charged passages rely on the simplest effects.

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