Review: For Love or Money? Houston Ballet Delivers Saucy, Tawdry Tale with MANON

While many ballets have a noble or demure woman at the center of the story (Swan Lake, The Sleeping Beauty, the Sugar Plum Fairy, just to name a few), the title role of MANON is rather...feisty. MANON turns traditional romance on it's tutu with an ingenue who is anything but predictable. This is a slippery woman who flirts with life, money and men. Whom will she choose? The young, sweet Des Grieux, whose ardent feelings run true, or the moneyed Monsieur G.M., who can give her a deliciously decadent life? Sleeping Beauty wouldn't hesitate for a moment; love would win the day, but Manon- both the story and the character- is a little more complex than that.

L'histoire de Manon, generally referred to as Manon, is a wonderfully theatrical ballet choreographed by Kenneth MacMillan with music by Jules Massenet. It is based on the 1731 novel Manon Lescaut by Abbé Prévost. The ballet was first performed by The Royal Ballet in London in 1974.

The story begins in the courtyard of a Paris inn, frequented by actresses, men on the prowl, and other questionable types clinging to the edges of Paris society. Among them are Des Grieux, a young student, Monsieur G.M., a wealthy, older man, and Lescaut, who is there to meet his sister Manon on her way to enter a convent, of all things. A coach arrives carrying Manon and the older gentleman who is bewitched by her beauty. Not one to miss a golden opportunity, Lescaut notices this and takes Monsieur G.M. into the inn to come to an arrangement with him over Manon. While the two come to a financial agreement, Manon waits outside and meets the sensitive Des Grieux. They fall in love and plot to leave Paris with the money that Manon has stolen from Monsieur G.M. Lescaut and the old gentleman come out of the inn, having made a bargain, to find Manon has vanished. Lured by Monsieur's money, Lescaut promises to find Manon and get her to accept G.M. The plot follows Manon through various romantic and sexual entanglements, leading us to wonder, is Manon the manipulated or the manipulator? I found myself rooting for her despite (or maybe because of) her flawed character, hoping she would go with the man who clearly loves her. No spoiler alert here; let's just say that MANON will leave you feeling breathless until the end.

MANON is a coveted role that any ballerina would love to sink her feet into. The choreography is dramatic, multifaceted, and refreshingly detailed, with innovative steps and lyrical, exotic lifts. Manon has a broad character arc; proud, flirtacious, sexy, romantic, controlling, passive, and weak are just some of the traits within this complex character. Principal dancer Melody Mennite has the audience in the palm of her hand, inhabiting the role with expert technical prowess and a compelling immersion into the character. Connor Walsh plays her earnest lover, Des Grieux, and the pair have great stage chemistry, generating plenty of heat with their first-rate stage kisses. Another standout in the cast is Jessica Collado as Lescaut's saucy mistress. Collado has a stage presence to be reckoned with and the scene in which she dances with a drunk man is a witty high point in the production.

With sets and costumes by Peter Farmer, this production is a visual feast. Farmer has been creating designs for Houston Ballet for over the past forty years and his work is gorgeous. The sets are rich and earthy, especially for the scene which takes place in Louisiana, with its mysterious Spanish moss and ghostly fog. Costumes range from flirty and provocative to sweet, creamy gowns, creating a strong subtext for the storyline. In many ways MANON is quite theatrical and the costumes reflect this nicely; there isn't a single tutu displayed in the entire ballet.

While the dancing in MANON is stunning and the plot creates plenty of juicy tension, the scene in which Manon is raped by the jailer went much too far. The choreography is beyond coarse here, and it is gratuitous in that it exceeds the amount of time needed for an audience to understand that a woman is being violated. This is the one and only disappointing aspect in an otherwise excellent production.

MANON is presented at The Wortham Theater Center from Sept. 10 - 20.

For tickets: www.houstonballet.org/Ticketing-Schedule/Season-Calendar/Manon/

Photo Credits: Amitava Sarkar

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