GP at the Met: Manon

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

Season 14 of Great Performances at the Met premieres 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.

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 Met presentation 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