Anna Netrebko in 'Manon'
(WILLIAMSTOWN and GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass.) – Massenet’s Manon screens Live in HD from the Metropolitan Opera at The Clark and the Mahaiwe on Saturday, April 7, at noon. In Laurent Pelly’s new production – an enormous hit when it premiered at Covent Garden – star soprano Anna Netrebko explores the extremes of Massenet’s irresistible heroine. There will be a pre-broadcast lecture by opera expert Scott Eyerly at the Mahaiwe at 10 a.m., and an encore screening at the Mahaiwe on Wednesday, April 11 at noon.
Russian soprano Netrebko sings her first Met performances of the title role in Manon, Massenet’s opera about a country girl with conflicting desires for love and luxury who is drawn into a life of glamorous but hollow Parisian sophistication. Piotr Beczala co-stars as the Chevalier des Grieux, a young nobleman who falls in love with Manon; Paulo Szot sings the role of Lescaut, Manon’s protective cousin who struggles with temptations of his own; and David Pittsinger sings the Comte des Grieux, who wants his son out of Manon’s arms and into a respectable future.
Met principal conductor Fabio Luisi leads Massenet’s passionate opera, seen in a stylish new production by Laurent Pelly. Soprano Natalie Dessay hosts the transmission.
Russian soprano Anna Netrebko as "Manon Lescaut" performs during a dress rehearsal of a production of Jules Massenet's opera "Manon" at the Deutsche Staatsoper in Berlin. (Photo MICHAEL KAPPELER/AFP/Getty Images)
The Clark is located at 225 South Street in Williamstown, Massachusetts. The galleries are open Tuesday through Sunday, 10 am to 5 pm (daily in July and August). Admission is free November through May. For more information, call 413 458 2303 or visit clarkart.edu. Tickets at The Clark are $25 ($18 for members and students) and may be ordered online at The Clark or by calling 413.458.0MET (413.458.0638). The box office will also be open one hour before the performance, and the doors will open at 11:30 am.
Tickets to the pre-broadcast lecture at the Mahaiwe are $10; tickets to the Mahaiwe screening are $18 to $25. The Mahaiwe Box Office is located at 14 Castle Street in Great Barrington. Box Office Hours: Wednesday through Saturday from noon to 6pm and three hours before show times. For tickets and information, see the Mahaiwe or call 413.528.0100.