The Hvorostovsky Krasnoyarsk Opera and Ballet Theatre will present the premiere performance of Jules Massenet's opera Manon in April. A series of three premiere shows will take place on April 20, 21, 23.

Directors Andrejs Žagars and Irina Lychagina introduced their production Manon at the Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Moscow Academic Music Theatre (MAMT) in 2016. And in 2024, 140 years after the world premiere, this opera is staged in Krasnoyarsk. The Krasnoyarsk version of Manon will use costumes and scenery from the production of the Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Music Theatre.

The opera is based on the 1731 novel L'Histoire du Chevalier des Grieux et de Manon Lescaut by the Abbé Prévost that is set in the early 18th century. However, the directors laid the scene in the late 1960s. According to Irina Lychagina, much the same atmosphere was sensed in the times of libertinisme (the period when Prévost wrote his novel): a sudden emotional outburst, exaggerated freedom of morals, permissiveness, appetite for pleasure.

To recreate the atmosphere of the 1960s, costume designer Kristina Pasternaka collected authentic vintage items from European stores. The costumes were made according to her sketches developed with references to Lagerfeld, Chanel, Valentino, and other outstanding fashion designers who were active in the 1960s. A huge collection of shoes was made for the production according to models of those years. Most of the costumes will be included in the Krasnoyarsk show.

Music director and conductor of the production is Chief Conductor of the Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Music Theatre Felix Korobov.  He considers the leading parts of the opera - Manon and des Grieux - significant for any singer’s career.

“It is incredibly difficult to maintain the purity of the voice and timbre under the emotional stress that the artists experience in this opera; these parts require considerable skills. In Moscow, we had two casts: those artists were selected right at the rehearsals basing on the wattage of a singer, the “vibe” between the soloists. These are remarkable love duets: if there is no emotional response between the partners, it is extremely difficult to express such feelings on stage. The duets are greatly written: there is a lot of parallel singing and, of course, the timbre combination is important so that the voices merge with each other. This is probably the most difficult thing in Massenet's opera. The part of Manon Lescaut is rehearsed by Anna Avakyan and Violetta Grishko, and the one of Chevalier de Grieux - by Davit Yesayan and Valentin Kolesnikov. We’ll decide how to distribute the duets closer to the day of the premiere show,” said Felix Korobov.