Manon was quite the shocker when it premiered in 1974. “You have a 16-year-old heroine who is beautiful and absolutely amoral, and a hero who is corrupted by her and becomes a cheat, a liar and a murderer,” said choreographer Kenneth MacMillan. “Not exactly our conventional ballet plot, is it?”Unconventional maybe, but it became one of MacMillan’s enduring works – a tale of glint and greed, of tender hearts hardened and broken by an unfeeling world. Manon, fresh from the convent, is decanted into Paris where her unscrupulous brother pimps her out, while she loves the student Des Grieux. Pulled between emotional and material needs, it’s never going to end well.This 50th anniversary revival feels avid and vital – especially with its stunning opening night cast. Francesca Hayward and Marcelino Sambé’s lovers seem younger when they dance together, shedding a layer of willed sophistication. Their pas de deux attempt to carve out some privacy, and the dancers lean into MacMillan’s exposing choreography – her vulnerable stretch of inner arm, his open cleft from chin to chest.
