Highly-anticipated Manon ballet returns to Sydney Opera House after more than a decade hiatus

After more than a decade, the highly anticipated “masterclass” of Sir Kenneth MacMillan’s Manon is returning to the Sydney Opera House.

Dancers Ako Kondo, Principal Artist, and Davi Ramos, Senior Artist. Picture: Justin Lloyd.

After a hiatus of more than a decade, the highly anticipated “masterclass” of Sir Kenneth MacMillan’s Manon is returning to the Sydney Opera House.

Based on Abbé Prévost’s 1731 novel, the ballet transports audiences from the opulence of 18th-century Paris to the desolate swamps of Louisiana.

It premiered in 1974 and first came to Australia 20 years later.

Now, having last staged the production in 2014, the Australian Ballet is bringing the production back.

The Australian Ballet artistic director David Hallberg said Manon “was a masterpiece that stays with you long after the curtain falls”.

The show runs from April 30 until May 17 in Sydney. Picture: Justin Lloyd

“The duets are some of the most romantically charged in all our repertoire,” he said.

“With the passion for the storytelling, every moment demands complete commitment from the dancers, physically and emotionally. What results is the beauty of ballet told through the passion of lost love.”

The show returns after more than a decade. Picture: Justin Lloyd

Mr Hallberg said after such a long hiatus, it was the perfect moment to “remind audiences why (Manon) is such a powerhouse of ballet”.

At the heart of the ballet is a tale of love and survival, in which the young and beautiful Manon meets the idealistic student des Grieux.

The pair fall deeply in love and flee to Paris to build a life together, but Manon, with the lure of wealth and luxury, is drawn to the grasp of the powerful Monsieur GM – a wealthy nobleman who promises her a life of opulence.

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Torn between passion and ambition, her choices set off a chain of events that lead to betrayal, imprisonment and, ultimately, a desperate escape to the unforgiving Louisiana swamps.

Des Grieux pursues Manon, but their story ends in heartbreak as fate deals its final blow.

The performance will run from April 30 until May 17 at the Joan Sutherland Theatre in the Sydney Opera House.
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Originally published as Highly-anticipated Manon ballet returns to Sydney Opera House after more than a decade hiatus