About the Opera: Manon

Composer: Jules Massenet (1842–1912)

Librettists: Henri Meilhac & Philippe Gille

Language: French

Opera in Five Acts

Premiered: March 19, 1884 at the Opéra-Comique in Paris

Plot Summary

Based on Abbé Prévost’s 1731 novel L’Histoire du chevalier des Grieux et de Manon Lescaut, Massenet’s Manon tells the tragic tale of:

Manon Lescaut, a young woman destined for the convent, who falls in love with the handsome student Chevalier des Grieux.

The two run away together, but Manon is eventually seduced by wealth and luxury, leading to heartbreak, separation, and ultimately her death in exile.

Themes include love, temptation, morality, and the contrast between youthful passion and societal constraint.

Condition:

This approximately 80-year-old program/play/opera measures 9x6 and is 48 pages long. There is no writing or markings and all pages are present.