Manon is a five-act opéra comique composed by Jules Massenet, set to a libretto by Henri Meilhac and Philippe Gille, and adapted from the 1731 novel L'histoire du chevalier des Grieux et de Manon Lescaut by the Abbé Prévost.
A tale of love, greed, and betrayal, the story follows Manon Lescaut, a young girl being sent to a convent by her family. Shortly after she arrives in Amiens to meet her cousin Lescaut, she encounters the Chevalier des Grieux, a young man from a wealthy family who instantly falls in love with her, resulting in the both of them deciding to elope together to Paris. They live happily together for some time, until Manon is persuaded to leave Des Grieux with the promise of riches and luxury with the wealthier De Brétigny.
Some more time passes, and Manon has been living a life of luxury when she learns that Des Grieux has decided to enter priesthood. Manon comes back to him and convinces him not to become a priest, reminding him of their love. The two are reunited, only to meet their downfall when they gamble away their fortune and are both arrested for cheating in a game. While Des Grieux is released, Manon is sentenced to be deported to America. Des Grieux seeks help to rescue her, but they arrive too late. Thus, Manon dies in Des Grieux's arms after receiving his forgiveness.
After its premiere at the Opéra-Comique in Paris in January 1884, it became a mainstay of the opera house. Today, Manon is Massenet's most popular opera, having become an important part of the operatic repertoire, with the title role becoming known as "the French Isolde" for its heavy vocal demands. Some of the famous interpretors of Manon include Bidu Sayão, Anna Moffo, Beverly Sills, Edita Gruberová, Anna Netrebko, and Natalie Dessay.
There was an earlier opera adaptation in three acts by Daniel Auber in 1856, which is rarely performed today, and a ballet adaptation, L'histoire de Manon, or simply Manon, from 1974 by Kenneth MacMillan. No relation to the children's book/cartoon of the same name.
This opera provides examples of:
- Absurdly High-Stakes Game: Des Grieux gambles heavily against Guillot at the Hotel de Transylvanie in Act IV, in the hopes of gaining the wealth that Manon craves. It even gets to the point that Guillot accuses Des Grieux of cheating.
- Adaptational Alternate Ending: In Prévost’s novel, Manon dies of exposure and exhaustion in the wilderness of Louisiana while she and Des Grieux attempt to reach an English settlement, with the latter eventually being taken back to France. In Massenet’s opera, however, Manon meets her end just as she’s been sentenced to deportation, and dies in Des Grieux’s arms as they await in the convoy.
- Adaptational Heroism: Des Grieux in Prévost’s novel is a more heartless and conceited character, who shows no sympathy for Manon when her brother dies, and neither does he feel remorse for his own manipulations. His opera counterpart is more good-hearted and tries to remain as such, only to fall into a more dangerous lifestyle when he’s seduced by Manon in Act III.
- Affluent Ascetic: In Act III, Des Grieux, the son of Count des Grieux, plans to take up priesthood at St. Sulpice, despite his father’s attempts to dissuade him. However, he ultimately abandons the plan when Manon comes back.
- Arranged Marriage: Lescaut, Manon’s cousin, attempts to set Manon up with the wealthy De Brétigny in Act II.
- Break Up Song: “Adieu notre petit table”, in Act II. Interestingly, Manon doesn’t sing it to Des Grieux, but to herself.
- Blue Blood: Des Grieux comes from this.
- Butt-Monkey: Guillot de Morfontaine at the end of Act I.
- Chaste Hero: Manon starts off as a naive country girl ready to enter into a convent when Des Grieux rescues her from such a fate and escapes with her. However, she gradually loses her naivety and becomes more of a femme fatale as the opera goes on.
- Conspicuous Consumption: Manon in Act III will typically show up in a fancy new get-up to show off her new wealth from De Brétigny.
- Country Cousin: Manon, a girl from Arras, could be considered as this for Lescaut. Contrary to this trope, however, Arras is located north of both Paris and Amiens, the location of Act I.
- Died in Your Arms Tonight: Manon dies in Des Grieux’s arms in Act V.
- Distracted by the Luxury: This is Manon’s fatal flaw. As much as she wants to fall in love, Manon also wants riches and luxury, and ends up choosing the offer of De Brétigny’s wealth in Act II, resulting in her abandoning the simpler Des Grieux.
- Downer Ending: But of course. Manon loses all her luxury and is sentenced to deportation, but before she can even be deported, she dies in Des Grieux’s arms after receiving his forgiveness.
- Easily Forgiven: The aria “N’est-ce plus ma main?” has Des Grieux forgive Manon surprisingly fast, despite how she’d abandoned him and broken her promise to him in favour of wealth and luxury with De Brétigny.
- Evil Sounds Deep: While not really evil, both Lescaut and Monsieur de Brétigny are rather paternalistic individuals, and both are baritone roles. Meanwhile, Count des Grieux is a bass role, and is more good-natured for the most part.
- Faint in Shock: Des Grieux When Manon dies in his arms.
- Fallen Princess: What Manon becomes by Act V.
- Fatal Flaw: Manon’s materialism clashes with her desire for meaningful love, which ultimately leads to her downfall at the end.
- Femme Fatale: Manon Lescaut is an unusual one, in that she starts out as a naive country girl, but quickly evolves into this when she and Des Grieux head off to Paris together and she becomes distracted by the glamour all around her.
- The Gambler: Des Grieux essentially becomes this in Act IV.
- Gay Paree: Played with, in that we get to see the wealth and glamour of 18th-century Paris, but also the seediness in Act V at the end.
- Glass-Shattering Sound: Manon has several of these, and due to the heavy vocal demands in this role, she’s been likened as “the French Isolde”.
- Gold Digger: Manon has shades of this in Acts II and III, when she decides to live with De Brétigny.
- Good Girl Gone Bad: Act I has Manon as a young and naive good girl, but by Act IV, she’s become a glamorous, diva-like bad girl with a taste for the finer things in life.
- The Grovel: Manon does this in Act III when begging for Des Grieux’s forgiveness.
- "I Am" Song: “Je marche sur tous les chemins”, Manon’s Act III aria, could count as this.
- The Ingenue: Manon starts off as one, but she quickly loses her innocence as she spends more time with Des Grieux in Paris.
- Louis XV: The opera is set during his reign.
- Love at First Sight: Des Grieux and Manon fall in love with each other at first sight in Amiens.
- Love Will Lead You Back: This basically occurs when Manon begs Des Grieux back in Act III, reminding him of their love.
- My Sister Is Off-Limits: More like cousin, but Lescaut has the same attitude when getting Manon ready for the convent at Amiens.
- Naïve Everygirl: Manon starts out as one, then gradually becomes a materialistic femme fatale, before finally becoming a broken and fallen woman.
- Old-School Chivalry: Des Grieux, being of noble blood, is courteous towards Manon in Act I, which is what attracts her to him.
- The Patriarch: The Count des Grieux.
- Princely Young Man: Des Grieux starts out as one, being from a noble family, but abandons his wealth and inheritance in favour of running away with Manon to Paris, even turning to gambling at some point to try and earn the wealth that Manon desires.
- Rich Suitor, Poor Suitor: De Brétigny is the rich suitor to Des Grieux’s poor suitor. Played with in that Des Grieux was originally wealthy, but gave up his wealth in favour of running away to Paris with Manon.
- Riches to Rags: In Act II, Des Grieux is living in a humble Parisian apartment with Manon, and making plans for a simple life for them both.
- Second-Act Breakup: Literally, in this case. Act II ends with Manon abandoning Des Grieux in favour of the wealthy De Brétigny, resulting in Des Grieux being abducted on his father’s behalf.
- Sickeningly Sweethearts: Manon and Des Grieux are this in Act II.
- Single Woman Seeks Good Man: As much as Manon loves wealth and glamour, she also wants a loving, meaningful relationship, and she sees Des Grieux as just the right man for her.
- Smitten Teenage Girl: Manon, being fifteen-years-old, is basically this in Act I.
- Taking the Veil: Manon was supposed to join a convent because of her materialistic desires. However, a chance meeting with Des Grieux ends those plans immediately.
- Tenor Boy: Chevalier des Grieux is a lyric tenor role, and is a young, romantic man.
- Turn to Religion: Act III reveals that Des Grieux is about to become a priest at the seminary of Saint-Sulpice, despite his father’s attempts to dissuade him from such a life. However, Des Grieux cannot forget about Manon, and ultimately abandons his training when Manon returns and pleads for his forgiveness.
