17 — 28 OCTOBER 2024
Manon Manon Manon
From the 1830s to 1850s, Daniel Auber and his librettist Eugène Scribe were true superstars of French opéra comique. The secret to their success? Stories in which the characters fumble their way through growing adversity, aided by incredible plot twists and turns, set to light-hearted music marked by irresistible melodies. One of the pair’s most enduring successes was their 1856 opera Manon Lescaut, based on the novel by the Abbé Prévost.
As the prurient elements of the story made it unsuitable for the respectable audiences of mid-nineteenth century theatres, Scribe transformed Manon into a frivolous young woman, who sincerely falls in love with Des Grieux but has the misfortune to always find herself in the wrong place at the wrong time. Manon’s part was written for a coloratura soprano with the bravura to deliver “C’est l’histoire amoureuse,” renowned as the “éclat de rire,” or laughing aria, for it sharp, shrill laughs. The opera and the original novel converge only in their endings, where Manon is deported and dies of hardship in a wasteland—never before had an opéra comique featured such a tragic conclusion.
Opéra comique
in three acts
Music by Daniel François Esprit Auber
Libretto by Eugène Scribe
Based on the novel Histoire du Chevalier Des Grieux et de Manon Lescaut di Antoine-François Prévost
World première:
Paris, Théâtre national de l’Opéra-Comique, 02/23/1856
Duration
Act I – 59′
Break – 35′
Act II – 40′
Break – 30′
Act III – 45′
Listen to C´est l´histoire amoureuse (L’éclat de rire)
Play
Creatives
Conductor | Guillaume Tourniaire
Direction | Arnaud Bernard
Direction assistant | Yamal Das Irmich
Scenes | Alessandro Camera
Costumes | Carla Ricotti
Lights | Fiammetta Baldiserri
Video | Marcello Alongi
Scene assistant | Andrea Gregori
Costume assistant | Luciano Cappiello
Lighting assistant | Oscar Frosio
Choir master | Ulisse Trabacchin
Orchestra and Choir Teatro Regio Torino
New production Teatro Regio Torino
Cast
Schedule and tickets
Carnet 3Manon
Carnet 3Manon Series A
Ticket office Teatro Regio
Piazza Castello 215 – Torino
Tel. 011.8815.241 – 011.8815.242
biglietteria@teatroregio.torino.it
Opening hours:
from Monday to Saturday 11am-7pm
Sunday 10.30am-3.30pm