Manon

«Et c’est là… l’histoire de Manon… Lescaut…» These are the last words of Manon’s brief life, which Jules Massenet portrays as a rise and fall. The young Manon is supposed to be sent to a convent, but she encounters the aristocratic Chevalier Des Grieux and runs away with him to Paris. The time they share in the metropolis is only of brief duration, for Manon’s craving for luxury drives her into the arms of a rich admirer. Just as the young Des Grieux is about to enter the priesthood, Manon returns to him. He is prepared to pay for Manon’s extravagant lifestyle by gambling. The two of them are arrested. While Des Grieux is released, the hardships of prison life take their toll on Manon, who perishes.

Thanks to Manon, the 42-year-old Jules Massenet became one of France’s leading operatic composers over night. The subject matter he chose satisfied the Belle Époque’s penchant for fallen and child-like women, and created an ideal for the suppressed desires of the male audiences of his time. The figure of Manon is beautiful and dangerous, innocent and manipulative, in need of protection and yet despicable. The young Des Grieux, who is controlled by his father, falls for her, believing that in Manon he will find a freer life in love. In his shimmering, colourful composition, Massenet explores the structure of unrequited desire.

A dream cast has been assembled for this new production: the young Franco-Danish soprano Elsa Dreisig, who is a winner of the important French singing prize «Victoire de la musique» and the «Operalia», and has already been heard at Zurich Opera House as Musetta, will be performing the role of Manon. We were able to engage Piotr Beczala, currently one of the most sought-after tenors and long since a Zurich crowd-pleaser, as Des Grieux. Marco Armiliato will conduct the Philharmonia Zurich. And the Dutch director Floris Visser, who has already successfully presented himself at Zurich Opera House with the family opera The Wizard of Oz, will be responsible for the production.

More information