The National Moravian-Silesian Theatre in Ostrava, CR is set to present a production of Massenet’s “Manon.”

The production will mark the first time the theater performs the masterwork in 53 years. This time it will be shown in the French original, conducted by Bruno Ferrandis, and directed by Jiří Nekvasil.

In a statement, Nekvasil noted, “Not even the pure love of the Chevalier des Grieux, who constantly falls under Manon’s spell, can save the young lady from the desire for money. Despite her faults and betrayals, he always succumbs to her irresistible allure in the end. And he will remain with her devotedly until her death! Massenet’s opera tells a love story in six completely contrasting, highly descriptive scenes. We begin in front of the hotel in Amiens, and travel into Paris—we drop in the tiny apartment of both lovers, then we visit the Cours le Reina, the Church of St. Sulpice, and the casino at the Hotel Transylvania. We accompany Manon to the end of her short life—to her last evening in the port of Le Havre. The music is vivid, emotional, ecstatic, and full of sense and humor (often slightly ironic). It is first and foremost beautiful and extremely melodic French music that is theatrically very effective and contains many dramatic contrasts.”

The work, which will also be conducted by Jiří Habartis set to star Jana Sibera and Soňa Godarská sharing the title role. Mickael Spadaccini, Luciano Mastro, Aleš Jenis, Pavol Kubáň, Martin Gurbaľ, František Zahradníček, Václav Morys, and Peter Svetlík round out the cast.

“Manon” is set to be performed through May 26, 2023.