Great Performances at the Met: Manon

Premieres nationwide Sunday, January 5 at 12 p.m. on PBS (check local listings)

Synopsis: 

Season 14 of Great Performances at the Metpremieres Sunday, January 5 at 12 p.m. on PBS (check local listings) with Massenet’s French tale Manon. Soprano Lisette Oropesa stars as Manon, alongside tenor Michael Fabiano as Chevalier des Grieux, and Artur Ruciński (Lescaut), Brett Polegato (de Brétigny), Kwangchul Youn (Comte des Grieux) and Carlo Bosi (Guillot de Morfontaine) round out the cast. Maurizio Benini conducts.

Laurent Pelly’s production is set in France and begins with Lescaut waiting for the arrival of his young cousin Manon, who is on her way to enter a convent. Awaiting her coach, Manon is excited about her first journey away from home. Chevalier des Grieux arrives late and misses the coach to Paris. He sees Manon and falls in love instantly. She tells him that her fondness for pleasure led her family to send her to a convent. Looking to escape her future life as a nun, Manon and des Grieux escape together in Guillot de Morfontaine’s coach to Paris. In an effort to marry Manon, des Grieux writes to Manon’s father. Lescaut, using the argument of family honor offended, berates des Grieux for having abducted Manon, since Lescaut is trying to profit by setting Manon up with de Brétigny, a nobleman. De Brétigny informs Manon that Comte des Grieux is planning to kidnap him that evening; if she does nothing to prevent it, de Brétigny will give her a life of wealth and luxury. Torn between the two men, Manon must choose between a life of luxury and wealth with de Brétigny or a life with her love des Grieux. Soprano Nadine Sierra hosts.

Short Listing

Watch Massenet’s sensual opera with soprano Lisette Oropesa and tenor Michael Fabiano.

Long Listing
Watch Massenet’s sensual opera with tenor Michael Fabiano as the lovestruck Chevalier des Grieux who pines for the irresistible Manon played by soprano Lisette Oropesa in this revealing production from Laurent Pelly. Maurizio Benini conducts.

Notable Talent: 

• Lisette Oropesa – Manon
• Michael Fabiano – Chevalier des Grieux
• Carlo Bosi – Guillot de Morfontaine
• Artur Ruciński – Lescaut
• Brett Polegato – de Brétigny
• Kwangchul Youn – Comte des Grieux
• Nadine Sierra – host

Noteworthy Fact

• Manon is based on the 1731 novel “Manon Lescaut” by Abbé Pré

Run time: 4 hours

Production Credits: 

• Maurizio Benini – Conductor
• Laurent Pelly – Production and Costume Designer
• Chantal Thomas – Set Designer
• Joël Adam – Lighting Designer
• Christian Räth – Associate Director
• Lionel Hoche – Choreographer
• Christian Räth – Revival Stage Director

For the Met, Gary Halvorson directs the telecast. Tim Martyn is Music Producer. Mia Bongiovanni and Elena Park are Supervising Producers, and Louisa Briccetti and Victoria Warivonchik are Producers. Peter Gelb is Executive Producer. For Great Performances, Bill O’Donnell is series producer; David Horn is Executive Producer.

Underwriters:

Corporate support for Great Performances at the Met is provided by Toll Brothers, America’s luxury home builder^®. This Great Performances at the Metpresentation is funded by the Anna-Maria and Stephen Kellen Arts Fund, The Philip and Janice Levin Foundation and public television viewers.

Series Overview:

Great Performances at the Met is a presentation of THIRTEEN Productions LLC for WNET, bringing the best of the Metropolitan Opera into the homes of classical music fans across the United States.

Websites: http://pbs.org/gperf, http://facebook.com/GreatPerformances, @GPerfPBS, http://youtube.com/greatperformancespbs#GreatPerformancesPBS

About WNET
WNET is America’s flagship PBS station: parent company of New York’s THIRTEEN and WLIW21 and operator of NJTV, the statewide public media network in New Jersey. Through its new ALL ARTS multi-platform initiative, its broadcast channels, three cable services (THIRTEEN PBSKids, Create and World) and online streaming sites, WNET brings quality arts, education and public affairs programming to more than five million viewers each month. WNET produces and presents a wide range of acclaimed PBS series, including Nature, Great Performances, American Masters, PBS NewsHour Weekend, and the nightly interview program Amanpour and Company. In addition, WNET produces numerous documentaries, children’s programs, and local news and cultural offerings, as well as multi-platform initiatives addressing poverty and climate. Through THIRTEEN Passport and WLIW Passport, station members can stream new and archival THIRTEEN, WLIW and PBS programming anytime, anywhere.

About The Met

Under the leadership of General Manager Peter Gelb and Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin, The Metropolitan Opera is one of America’s leading performing arts organizations and a vibrant home for the world’s most creative and talented artists, including singers, conductors, composers, orchestra musicians, stage directors, designers, visual artists, choreographers, and dancers. The company presents more than 200 performances each season of a wide variety of operas, ranging from early masterpieces to contemporary works. In recent years, the Met has launched many initiatives designed to make opera more accessible, most prominently the Live in HD series of cinema transmissions, which dramatically expands the Met audience by allowing select performances to be seen in more than 2,200 theaters in more than 70 countries around the world.