June19 2025 (Thu)
7:00 PM
7:00 PM
Manon Lescaut
Opera by G. Puccini
Prague State Opera
approx. 3 hours | Opera and Ballet | Available
| Date: | June 19, 2025 | 19:00 (Thu) |
|---|---|
| Venue: | Prague State Opera |
| Duration: | approx. 3 hours |
| Intermission: | Yes (20 minutes) |
| Status: | Available |
| Reviews: | (2) |
Ticket in your mobile device accepted
Manon Lescaut: love, or money? Luxury, or passion?
In Italian, surtitles in Czech, English
A life with the wealthy Geronte would offer the pretty Manon luxury, yet it would be devoid of passion. And great passion is what Manon enjoys with the poverty-stricken Chevalier Renato des Grieux. She must make a choice. Failing to do so is fateful for her …
The 1893 opera Manon Lescaut was Giacomo Puccini’s first triumph. Abounding in splendid melodies, the music renders intense emotions, from fervid love in the duet between Des Grieux and Manon in Act 2 to crushing despair of the lonesome Manon in the aria “Sola, perduta, abbandonata”.
The libretto is based on Abbé Prévost’s novel Histoire du Chevalier des Grieux, et de Manon Lescaut, issued in 1731 in Paris. Puccini was mesmerised by the book, yet his publisher, Ricordi, tried to dissuade him from setting it, pointing out that the story had already been adapted as an opera, Jules Massenet’s wildly popular Manon. Puccini, however, stuck to his guns, reasoning that “a woman like Manon can have more than one lover”.
Despite its difficult gestation (the text was patched together by five librettists), he created an opera whose premiere, on 1 February 1893 in Turin, enraptured the audience and critics alike. Puccini’s Manon Lescaut received its first performance in Bohemia on 24 April 1894 at the National Theatre in Prague. The Neues deutsches Theater (today’s State Opera) followed suit on 1 November 1923, with the production conducted by Alexander Zemlinsky, who at the time served as director of its opera company.
Performing:
Soloists
State Opera Chorus
State Opera Orchestra
National Theatre Opera Ballet
Important:
- The purchased tickets cannot be returned or exchanged
- There is a screen with subtitles on each seat
- One 20 min. intermission
- No discounts are provided
- Suitable for audience from 5 years
- Theatre is a cultural institution. Please respect the common principles of appropriate behaviour and clothing.
- The program may be subject to change
- The price includes service fee of 3,7 € (100,- CZK)
