Manon Lescaut

Giacomo Puccini

New Production

Manon has been seduced. As an impressionable young woman she wanted it all. She wanted to taste the tempting fruit of adult life. Now just months later she has discovered that the fruit is rotten at the core. Does Manon have any chance of salvation?

Manon Lescaut is the classic Fallen Woman. Puccini charts her rapid descent from innocent to criminal with feverish intensity. If you enjoy La bohème, Madam Butterfly and Tosca you will want to explore Puccini’s breakthrough hit and first great opera.

“I’m looking forward to working on Manon Lescaut as I've never heard it before. I know whenever Puccini is in our repertoire I need to bring tissues to rehearsals, his music always moves me to tears.”

Katie Heath-Jones, Deputy Stage Manager

WNO Extra
Cast & Creative
Other Info

Fallen Women Explorer Packs

Book for two or more operas in the season and receive this special pack of added extras:

A complimentary Fallen Women programme

Special hotel rates

Ticketholders for all three operas receive all of the above plus:

A complimentary copy of Abbé Prévost’s novel Manon Lescaut

FREE pre-performance talks

Prior to every performance of Manon Lescaut and Boulevard Solitude

The Whole Story

The Whole story is the perfect introduction to the Fallen Women season. Before the performances begin, our team of experts will guide you through the music, stories and background to each opera.

Literary inspirations

A special hour long talk looking at how the season's operas draw on classics by Dumas and and Prévost.

David Pountney in Conversation

David Pountney and a key figure from the arts explore the Fallen Women theme.

Conductor Lothar Koenigs
Director Mariusz Trelinski
Set Designer Boris Kudlicka
Costume Designer Magdalena Musial
Choreography Tomasz Wygoda
Video Projections Bartek Macias
Lighting Designer Felice Ross

Cast includes
Manon Lescaut Chiara Taigi
Lescaut David Kempster
Chevalier des Grieux Gwyn Hughes Jones
Geronte di Ravoir Stephen Richardson

All performances start at 7.15pm

Running time approximately 2 hours 30 minutes including one interval

Sung in Italian with surtitles in English (and Welsh in Cardiff and Llandudno)

Co-production with Teatr Wielki, Warsaw and La Monnaie, Brussels