Synopsis - Manon

ACT I
The stage is set in France, 1721, in the courtyard of an inn at Amiens.  There, Guillot, an elderly roué, and his wealthy friend Bretigny have ordered dinner for three actresses of easy virtue, Poussette, Javotte and Rosette.  The innkeeper is slow to arrive and they are impatient.  With flustered apologizes, the innkeeper ushers them in for their meal.  As they retire, a young officer, Lescaut, comes to meet his cousin Manon, who is on her way to a convent. The coach carrying his cousin soon arrives and passengers pour out, impatient to collect their luggage and be home.  Manon is among them, and excitedly tells Lescaut about her first trip away from home. While he looks after her luggage, Guillot, calling for more wine, notices the beautiful Manon and flirts with her, but she only laughs at the elderly man's advances. Lescaut returns, and before joining friends at a gaming table he warns Manon about the dangers of talking to strangers.

Once Lescaut is gone, Manon wistfully compares her own bland future at the convent with the pleasure-filled life of Guillot and his glamorous companions. She is interrupted as the Chevalier Des Greiux arrives at the inn and, on seeing Manon, instantly falls in love with her. Seizing this opportunity to escape the convent, Manon suggests that they run off together and Des Greiux tantalizes Manon with dreams of a life in Paris.  Together, they take Guillot's coach and the half drunk Guillot stumbles from the inn to hurl curses after the escaping pair, frustrated as he had intended to abduct Manon himself.   When Lescaut discovers his cousin missing, he blames Guillot for her abduction.

ACT II
In their Paris apartment, Manon and Des Grieux read a letter he has composed for his father asking permission to marry his love, Manon. As he goes to post the letter, Des Grieux notices a bouquet of flowers on the mantle.  When he asks who has sent them, she lies to calm his jealosy. Lescaut and Brétigny arrive, the former to demand that Des Grieux marry Manon, the latter to tell the girl that Des Grieux is soon to be kidnapped by his irate father. After the visitors depart, Des Grieux goes off to send the letter to his father. Left alone, Manon is unable to resist the temptation of luxury offered her by Brétigny and bids a heartfelt farewell to the life she shared with Des Grieux. The young man returns, relating an idyllic vision of their future life together, but officers suddenly force their way into the room and abduct him.

ACT III

A holiday crowd fills a park at the Cours-la-Reine, where Poussette, Javotte and Rosette have eluded Guillot. Lescaut sentimentally addresses a pretty passerby as his beloved "Rosalinde," then generously offers her presents from the vendors' carts. Guillot pledges that he is over his love for Pousette, Javotte and Rosette to his friend Bretigny.  Dismayed, Bretigny asks that Guillot not take his Manon away from him, and Guillot begins to scheme his revenge for being snubbed by Manon. 
Manon, preens in the street, admired by passer-bys and sings a gavotte in praise of the wonders of youth and beauty. When Des Grieux's father, the Count, speaks with Bretigny, Manon overhears their conversation, and learns that Des Grieux is about to be inducted into the Church. She herself speaks to the Count and is piqued to hear that her former lover has closed his heart. Manon rushes to St. Sulpice.

In the chapel at St. Sulpice, women describe in awe the eloquence of the new abbé. Skeptical of his son's new virtue, the Count tries to persuade Des Grieux to abandon the church and marry a suitable girl. After the father leaves, Des Grieux prays for the strength to resist the memory of Manon. But Manon arrives, breaks his resolve with her ardor and persuades him to run away with her.

ACT IV
In Hôtel de Transylvanie, a notorious gambling house, a crowd of gamblers gather, among them Lescaut, Guillot and the three actresses. When Des Grieux arrives with Manon, she pushes him to gamble back their fortune at the faro table. As the young man plays cards with Guillot, Manon and the actresses sing in praise of living for the moment. Guillot, losing every hand, accuses Des Grieux of cheating and goes off to summon the police; the authorities soon arrive and with them the Count Des Grieux, who rebukes his son but promises him that his arrest will be only temporary. Manon swoons as they are taken away.

ACT V
Manon is to be deported to Louisiana on charges of immorality. On the road to Le Havre, where she must pass, Des Grieux and Lescaut bribe the guards to release her. Manon, weak and exhausted from consumption collapses in her lover's arms. Des Grieux, though despairing, comforts her as, murmuring of their lost happiness, she dies.