La Scala Ballet: L'Histoire de Manon

Manon (superstar Nicoletta Manni), a winsome girl with dangerously innocent allure, gives in to the temptation of wealth and becomes calculating and corrupt. For her brother Lescaut (Nicola del Freo) she is a bargaining chip, for old Monsieur G. M. (Gabrielle Corrado) she is an object of desire, for the student Des Grieux (Reece Clarke) she is pure and simple love. MacMillan’s exhilarating and engaging ballet gives new life to the character created by Prévost and popularized through opera, delineating the allure and tragedy of the protagonist and crafting splendid male roles. Fifty years after its debut, it has lost none of its dramatic and theatrical power.