Before Mimi, Tosca and Cio-Cio San there was Manon Lescaut. Greedy for pleasure, the impulsive antiheroine was the first femme fatale in French literature.
Premiered in Turin in 1893, Puccini’s adaptation turned a sentimental narrative into an operatic sensation. Four episodes of ensnarement and escape trace the affair between Manon and Des Grieux from Amiens to Paris, and Le Havre to Louisiana, with a stunning intermezzo for strings. In the cruel and glorious opera that made Puccini’s name, a convent girl becomes a courtesan, then a convict, forever unable to choose between a life of luxury and a life of love.
£20 tickets available for Under 30s. Sign up here to access the promo code.
Free Tickets for Under 18s are now on sale. Booking is available online or over the phone on 0300 999 1000. To book online, you will first need to register as an Under 18s Booker. Free tickets are available in the pink price zone (starred seats only).
