Manon

A pretty, fun-loving teenage girl is sent by her family to live in a convent. At a country crossroads, fate intervenes, and she is swept off to true love, then to an existence of luxury and indulgence in upper-class Paris—only to end her life, ill and imprisoned for theft, back in the arms of her lover. Jules Massenet’s opera, based on the Abbé Prévost’s hugely influential 1731 novel L’Histoire du Chevalier des Grieux et de Manon Lescaut, is a work full of elegance and spirit, highly emotional yet never lapsing into melodrama, and firmly focused on its two protagonists.

Manon is the quintessential tale of a free woman navigating a world of powerful, avaricious men—men who grab whatever they want, whatever the consequences, with a stunning lack of self-awareness or empathy. The Met’s production by French director Laurent Pelly updates the opera’s setting from the 18th century to the period in which Massenet composed it, the Belle Époque (or “Beautiful Era”), and highlights the historical convergence of social repression and artistic liberty. Manon’s world is a stylized urban jungle, with smooth surfaces, top hats, coattails, and beautiful gowns—a place at once glamorous and visibly laden with risk.

This guide approaches Manon from multiple perspectives, including textual analysis, visual design, and historical reception. It will help students understand why the tale of Manon was so popular at the time of the opera’s composition, as well as why it endures to this day. In so doing, they will come to appreciate the brilliance of Massenet’s work, which captures the drama of his most memorable heroine with deft craftsmanship, expressive vocal and orchestral writing, and an almost unparalleled level of sensuality.