Manon Lescaut enjoys the admiration of men who pine for her. Her brother pursues their father’s plan to protect her from the men in a convent. The affluent Geronte wants to entice her to his world, but she grants her love to the young Des Grieux and escapes the clutches of her brother. But briefly thereafter, she follows Geronte’s material enticements and becomes dependent on him. Nonetheless, her love for Des Grieux soon makes her want to abandon her new surroundings once again.

With this setting of Abbé Prévost’s novel, which Jules Massenet had already brought to the opera stage in 1884, Giacomo Puccini secured his fame in 1893 in Turin as one of the most successful opera composers, which he remains to this day. With vivid sounds and subtle melodies, Puccini makes the emotions of his characters appear realistic. In this production, Bertrand de Billy returns to the Staatsoper to conduct. In his staging, Johannes Erath focuses on the longings and dreams of the protagonist and the men around her.