Giacomo Puccini
Manon Lescaut
Events and tickets

Dramma lirico in four acts

Co-production with Teatro real Madrid

Libretto by Luigi Illica, Domenico Oliva and Marco Praga

Description

A scandalous novel by Abbé Prévost from 18th century Paris tells of the "amour fou" between the young noble Chevalier Des Grieux and the bourgeois girl Manon Lescaut. Both violate morality and law in the name of love and become the most famous couple of their era. Manon is torn between a passionate love and her desire for a life of wealth and security. On the way to the convent, she is matched with a wealthy man by her brother but elopes with her lover. In the house of the wealthy Geronte, to which she returns, she is regarded merely as an attraction, yet choosing the loving Des Grieux and leaving everything behind proves difficult for her. During an escape attempt, she is arrested as a thief and sentenced to exile in the American colonies. Des Grieux, who attempts in vain to save her, follows her into exile, where their shared path ultimately ends in the desert. A tragic love story where love finds no place to unfold. The year 1893 marks a turning point for Italian opera: the 80-year-old Giuseppe Verdi retires from the stage with his last opera FALSTAFF. At the same time, there is no longer any doubt as to who will be his successor: with MANON LESCAUT, Giacomo Puccini experiences his first global success and creates a new Italian opera that reflects the spirit of the age: the emotions are intense and torn, the forms are free, the acts follow one another episodically and obey only the laws of passion. Puccini pays homage to the 18th century in the score, yet the fascination that Richard Wagner's music had on him is particularly felt with particular compulsion in this opera. Richness of colour, dramatic expressiveness, and emotive cantilenas make MANON LESCAUT a very special Italian opera work, with the most demanding tenor role Puccini ever wrote. The new General Music Director Andrés Orozco-Estrada opens his first season at the podium of the Gürzenich Orchestra with this premiere. Carlos Wagner, a director of international standing, makes his debut in Cologne with MANON LESCAUT.

Participants

Musikalische Leitung
Inszenierung
Kostüme
Chorleitung
Dramaturgie
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cast

Manon Lescaut
Geronte de Ravoir
Der Wirt / Ein Sergeant
Ein Tanzlehrer
Ein Laternenanzünder
Ein Kommandant der Marine
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Events and tickets

September 2025

28 / 09
Manon Lescaut
Giacomo Puccini
Sun, 6.00 PM to 9.00 PM, StaatenHaus Saal 2

Premiere

Pre-sales starts on 07 April at 10 am.

More info and cast

October 2025

02 / 10
Manon Lescaut
Giacomo Puccini
Thu, 7.30 PM to 10.30 PM, StaatenHaus Saal 2

Pre-sales starts on 07 April at 10 am.

More info and cast
04 / 10
Manon Lescaut
Giacomo Puccini
Sat, 7.30 PM to 10.30 PM, StaatenHaus Saal 2

Pre-sales starts on 07 April at 10 am.

More info and cast
Show more
Donna non vidi mai simile a questa.

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