A New Production of Puccini’s Passionate Love Story, Manon Lescaut, Opens at the Met February 12,
Starring Kristine Opolais and Roberto Alagna
Met Principal Conductor Fabio Luisi leads Sir Richard Eyre’s
new staging of Puccini’s breakthrough opera
The March 5 matinee will be transmitted live around the world as part of
The Met: Live in HD series
New York, NY (February 2, 2016) – The Met’s new production of Puccini’s Manon Lescaut opens February 12 with Kristine Opolais as the seductive, tragic heroine and Roberto Alagna in a role debut as her ardent lover, the Chevalier des Grieux. The staging is conducted by Fabio Luisi, the Met’s Principal Conductor, and directed by Sir Richard Eyre, whose past Met productions include acclaimed stagings of Carmen, Werther, and Le Nozze di Figaro. Manon Lescaut will also star Massimo Cavalletti as Manon’s cousin, Lescaut, and Brindley Sherratt as Geronte, the wealthy general who takes Manon as his mistress. The production features sets by Rob Howell, costumes by Fotini Dimou, lighting design by Peter Mumford, and choreography by Sara Erde.
While the Met planned this production to feature Opolais’s interpretation of the title role, which she has sung to acclaim at the Bavarian State Opera and the Royal Opera, Covent Garden, Roberto Alagna, a star at the Met for 20 years, was a late addition to the cast. When Jonas Kaufmann withdrew from the production due to illness while rehearsals were underway, Alagna—at the Met starring in Pagliacci—agreed to undertake the challenge of learning the new staging and preparing a role he has never before sung onstage in the weeks leading up to the premiere.
The Saturday, March 5 matinee performance of Manon Lescaut will be transmitted worldwide as part of the Met’s Live in HD series, which is now seen in more than 2,000 movie theaters in 70 countries around the world.
Further information, including biographies of principal artists, is available in our online press room here.
Performances: February 12, 15, 18, 24, 27mat; March 1, 5mat, 8, 11. Curtain times vary: complete schedule here. Running time: 3 hours and 8 minutes, including two intermissions.
Tickets begin at $25; for prices, more information, or to place an order, please call (212) 362-6000 or visit www.metopera.org. Special rates for groups of 10 or more are available by calling (212) 341-5410 or visiting www.metopera.org/groups.
Same-day $25 rush tickets for all performances of Manon Lescaut are available on a first-come, first-served basis on the Met’s Web site. Tickets will go on sale for performances Monday-Friday at noon, matinees four hours before curtain, and Saturday evenings at 2pm. To enter, click here.
