Choreography - Kenneth MacMillan | Music - Jules Massenet | Chef d'orchestre - Koen Kessels

Ballet in 3 acts - 2 intervals - 3 hours

Repeat broadcast on Monday 2 November 2026 at 8.00 pm

In the underworld of 18th-century Paris, money is king. Nothing is sacred, and even love can be bought if one is willing to pay the price.

A child of this hedonistic and seedy milieu, Manon is torn between two conflicting desires when she falls in love with the student Des Grieux. Loyal and devoted, he offers her the chance of an honourable life. But she remains tempted by the riches that Parisian life promises her…

Manon’s inner turmoil and her struggle to survive lie at the heart of this poignant adaptation of Abbé Prévost’s novel, choreographed by Kenneth MacMillan in 1974. In this iconic production by the Royal Ballet, MacMillan, through a nuanced analysis of the human psyche, offers an unflinching glimpse into the moral depravity of Manon’s Paris, whilst Jules Massenet’s score and Nicholas Georgiadis’s sets perfectly capture its decadence and decline.