MANON
Welsh Millennium Centre | Set and Costume Design | Conceptual
A romantic opera that follows the tragic tale of Manon Lescaut, exploring themes of desire, temptation, and the tragic consequences of societal expectations.
Composer : Jules Massenet
Director : Christian Hey
CONCEPT
THEME: Lured by luxury into the artificial world of the elite, Manon receives the riches of her wildest dreams before falling victim to this predatory, performative society, where what seems is valued over what is. A crafted and curated character, Manon becomes a material thing in a mans world, ending up exploited by the very game she chose to play.
CONCEPT: To set the story within the glamorous world of 1930s golden age Hollywood, where themes of artifice, objectification, ambition and exploitation live comfortably. From behind the scenes, we watch the filming of ' The Story of Manon Lescaut' in which the action of the opera plays out. The film machine's freshest young starlet is cast as Manon, turning the story into a bleak reflection of her situation and of celebrity culture as a whole. By the end of the opera we are unsure if the starlet played the role of Manon, or if she was Manon herself. How much was performance (within the performance), and as voyeurs, did we play a role in her demise?
