Manon

Manon

Hi everybody, Mary here.

So, little announcement : the #TheatreWeek is going to be kept going for a second week, as I am still quite busy and still have opéras and ballets to cover. So, here is the very first review of this second week with Manon, a ballet that is an adaptation from the novel by Abbé Prévost. So, without any further ado, let's get started, shall we ?

Manon : from the desire of money to the truth of love

The very first point I will raise is about the love story itself : Manon, who was supposed to go to a covent, meets Des Grieux and falls in love with him as much as he is in love with her. Their love is more powerful than the advanced of money (Monsieur GM), or family pressure (Manon's brother, Lescaut). In the end, Manon is ready to sacrifice her dream of money and fame to be in a relationship with Des Grieux, a humble and young student, and even when she gets arrested and sent to jail in Louisiana as a prostitute, she runs away with him and die while running away in the swamps, s  last proof of their undying love for each other.

The second point that I will raise is about Monsieur GM and Lescaut, who are the two societal pressures on Manon and Des Grieux's shoulders. Love is usually tainted with money, and relationships are usually arranged by the families for their own interests. At the beginning, Lescaut wants to sign a contract with a rich gentleman for him to marry his sister, but then, he turns around to Monsieur GM as he is wealthier. Arranged weddings were common, and even the norm, at the time, so it was very usual to see rich men lurking for the prettiest girls out there to marry them.

The third and last point that I will raise is about the social inequalities at that time, causing Lescaut to practically "sell" his sister to the richest man around to ensure her a life without any difficulties or financial problems. Des Grieux, however, didn't have the money to ensure that bright future for her, so he's resigned himself to steal money from Monsieur GM and cheat at a game against him. He ends up being chased away as a thief and Manon is incarcerated as a prostitute for being in love with him but "selling herself for money" to Monsieur GM. His shows the unfair society of those times.

Overall impression : really good story about love, for mature audiences, and shows the inequalities of is world, whether in the past or nowadays !

Okay, that's it for today ! I hope that you enjoyed this post and I will see you very soon with another post !

And as usual, our last word : KIDNEYS !