n vain to obtain his father's consent to his marriage, and the
capricious Manon, finding that the modest style of their _menage_
hardly agrees with her ideas of comfort, listens to the advances made to
her by a nobleman named Bretigny, and ends by conniving at a scheme,
planned by the elder Des Grieux, for carrying off his son from his
questionable surroundings. In the next act Manon is the mistress of
Bretigny, feted and admired by all. During an entertainment at
Cours-la-Reine, she overhears a conversation between Bretigny and the
Count des Grieux, and learns from the latter that his son is a novice at
Saint Sulpice. Seized by a sudden return of her old love, she hastens
away to the seminary, and after a passionate interview persuades Des
Grieux to come back once more to her arms. In the next act Manon
beguiles Des Grieux to a gambling-house, where he quarrels with Guillot,
one of her numerous admirers. The latter revenges himself by denouncing
the place to the police, who effect a successful raid upon it and carry
off Manon to St. Lazare. The last scene takes place upon the road to
Havre. Manon, who is condemned to transportation, is passing by with a
gang of criminals. Lescaut persuades the sergeant in charge to allow her
an interview with Des Grieux. She is already exhausted by ill-treatment
and fatigue, and dies in his arms. Massenet's dainty score reproduces
the spirit of the eighteenth century with rare felicity. A note of
genuine passion, too, is not wanting, and an ingenious use of guiding
themes binds the score together into a harmonious whole. A novelty in
its arrangement is the plan of an orchestral accompaniment to the
dialogue. AEsthetically this is perhaps hardly defensible, but in several
scenes--notably that of Cours-la-Reine, in which Manon's agitated
interview with the Count stands out in forcible relief against the
graceful background formed by a minuet heard in the distance--the result
is completely successful. 'Le Cid' (1885) and 'Le Mage' (1891), two
works produced at the Paris Opera, may be passed over as comparative
failures, but 'Esclarmonde' (1889) marks an important stage in
Massenet's career. The libretto is drawn from an old French romance.
Esclarmonde, the Princess of Byzantium, who is a powerful enchantress,
loves Roland, the French knight, and commands her minion spirits to
guide him to a distant island, whither she transports herself every
night to enjoy his company. He betrays the secre