Heartbeat Opera Will Present MANON! This Winter

New York's  Heartbeat Opera—the indie company whose daring, stripped down takes of classic operas have been called "a radical endeavor" by The New Yorker and "revelatory" by The Los Angeles Times—presents MANON!, a musical theater revamp of the iconic story of love, glamour, and reinvention. 

Heartbeat takes a radically new approach to Massenet's 1884 French opera, envisioning it as a musical sung entirely in English and with no supertitles. The saucy production is directed by Obie Award-winning director Rory Pelsue (NYT Critic’s Pick The Last Bimbo of the Apocalypse, Pulitzer Prize finalist Circle Jerk) and is adapted by Pelsue and Heartbeat's Artistic Director Jacob Ashworth. Heartbeat's Music Director Dan Schlosberg, known for his "ingenious" arrangements of the classics (The Wall Street Journal), channels Rodgers and Hammerstein in his luscious new arrangements, and conducts from the keyboard for the first time since Lady M in 2023. Choreography is by Sara Gettelfinger (Broadway's Water for Elephants, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels), while a glittering cast of opera-savvy Broadway voices bring an entirely new sound to Heartbeat Opera. 

MANON! (ten performances January 27, 28, 29, 31, February 1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8) follows Manon as she is rescued from her fate in a convent and finds herself pulled between two suitors: Power and True Love. Opera's original "it-girl," she deftly invents and reinvents herself throughout the work, transforming her circumstances even when the stakes turn deadly. 

Rory Pelsue and Jacob Ashworth have written an entirely new book and lyrics for this adaptation of Manon that draws from both opera and musical theater traditions. Their inspiration is the history of opéra comique, a style that in its time looked a lot like musical theater today. Their English translation finds the meeting ground between the two, combining the grandness and opulence of opera with the irresistible punch of Golden Age musicals. Heartbeat is at the vanguard of bringing opera in English back, and this translation builds on Heartbeat's recent productions, notably their triumphant English-language Salome "that had New York’s cognoscenti all atwitter" (Air Mail).

The production is directed by Rory Pelsue, a force in the Off-Broadway world known for his fast-paced, queer, and contemporary style. Pelsue and Ashworth’s adapation sets MANON! in the same time as the original story, a rare move for Heartbeat. Pelsue says: “We looked at so many alternate time periods to set this show, but I became obsessed with how courtesans like Manon were such a unique part of pre-revolutionary French society. The often brutal ways these women started on their careers and the stratospheric heights to which they could rise are mind-boggling. It’s a decadent, dog-eat dog world that is teetering on the edge of total oblivion, but this young woman of humble means scales the sheer rock face of social immobility AND tries to have love at the same time. It’s delicious... and disturbing.”

MANON! features a new arrangement by Heartbeat's celebrated music director Dan Schlosberg, the wizard behind so many of the company's dazzling productions. The opera's irresistible score takes on new flair with this re-orchestration, moving seamlessly between 18th century allusions, 19th century romanticism, and early 20th century musicals. At the heart of the band are oboe and bassoon—their wonderfully French colors making a rare appearance in a Heartbeat band—alongside horn, harp, violin, cello, bass, and Dan at the keyboard playing piano, harpsichord, and organ.

MANON! features a cross-pollinated ensemble of luminaries of the opera and musical theater worlds. In the role of Manon is Emma Grimsley, who has made a home equally in opera and musical theater, and recently played Christine in the Broadway national tour of Phantom of the Opera ("Grimsley’s voice soars up to the high notes so gracefully it makes them sound completely effortless.”—Broadway World). Matt Dengler, who plays the Chevalier Des Grieux, understudied Henrik in the Broadway revival of A Little Night Music. Glenn Seven Allen, a consummate singing actor performing on Broadway, 0ff-Broadway and opera stages around the world, was hailed by Opera News as an “Edwardian matinee idol, giving by far the most detailed dramatic performance.” Jamari Darling was in Ain’t Too Proud on Broadway, and Broadway veteran Justin Lee Miller, another true crossover artist, has been in Porgy and Bess at opera houses all over the country (he was also the inaugural Program Director of Musical Theatre at Interlochen Arts Academy). Katie McCreary, a classically trained soprano with a career in musical theater off-Broadway and on tour, is currently appearing in Lincoln Center Theater’s Amahl and the Night Visitors with Joyce DiDonato and Phillip Boykin. Natalie Walker worked with Rory Pelsue on The Last Bimbo of the Apocalypse and has made a home in the world of offbeat musical theater.