Set in the seedy underworld of 18th-century Paris, where money is king and even love can be bought, Kenneth MacMillan's 1974 ballet follows Manon, torn between the devoted student Des Grieux and the glittering promise of high society.
The Royal Ballet's signature production turns Manon's inner turmoil and fight for survival into an unflinching portrait of moral decay, with Jules Massenet's score and Nicholas Georgiadis's designs bringing the decadence of the period vividly to life.
