MUSIC

Opera in the Heights is unique in Houston, because it makes classical opera come alive for everyone—from the opera devotee to the novice. Here, excellence is the essential and the productions are high-energy events in an intimate and unintimidating setting. This is opera for everybody.

November 5 through November 14, Opera in the Heights presents Manon, by Jules Massenet. Opera at its most elegant! A love story transporting the audience from the suburbs of Paris to the elegant salons of the city of lights. Desire, lust and yearning portrayed in the French manner.  

Manon is an opéra comique in five acts by Jules Massenet to a French libretto by Henri Meilhac and Philippe Gille, based on the 1731 novel L’histoire du chevalier des Grieux et de Manon Lescaut by the Abbé Prévost. It was first performed at the Opéra-Comique in Paris on January 19, 1884.

Manon is Massenet's most popular and enduring opera, having maintained an important place in the repertory since its creation. It is the quintessential example of the charm and vitality of the music and culture of the Parisian Belle Époque. The first Manon was Marie Heilbron and other noted interpreters include Sybil Sanderson (Massenet's personal favorite), Fanny Heldy, Lucrezia Bori, Bidu Sayao, Victoria de los Ángeles, Anna Moffo, Beverly Sills, Renée Fleming, Anna Netrebko, and Natalie Dessay.

Due to its heavy vocal demands, the role of Manon was described by Beverly Sills as "the French Isolde."

Click here for a full synopsis of the opera.

Click here for an essay by the maestro.