Company Premiere of MacMillan's Manon Opens San Francisco Ballet's 2025 Season
January 11, 2025—San Francisco Ballet will open the 2025 season with the Company premiere of Sir Kenneth Macmillan's Manon, a ballet in three acts. Based on Abbé Prévost's 1871 novel "Manon Lescaut," Manon is a tale of a young woman of much beauty and charm, but of little in the way of scruples. Manon's morals change to suit the opportunities available to her, from scene to scene and even within scenes.

In a 1974 interview with The New Yorker, Kenneth MacMillan said, "The characters fascinate me. You have a sixteen-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. Not exactly our conventional ballet plot, is it?"
"MacMillan was an artist who infused novelty and depth into his choreography," said Artistic Director Tamara Rojo. "Manon exemplifies how he brought new life to a classic story, transforming it into a timeless narrative."

Principal casting for Manon includes Principal Dancers Dores André, Jasmine Jimison, Sasha De Sola, and Nikisha Fogo as the teenage beauty Manon, and Harrison James, Max Cauthorn, and Aaron Robison as des Grieux, the young student who falls tragically in love with Manon. Principal Guest Artist Alban Lendorf will dance the role of des Grieus for select performances of Manon. Lendorf previously performed as a principal dancer with American Ballet Theatre and the Royal Danish Ballet. Currently, he performs as an international guest artist with companies such as English National Ballet and Stanislavski Ballet, and is Choreographer & Instructor at The Royal Danish Ballet. Lendorf was praised by the New York Times as, "One of the world's most exceptional dancers."

The ballet Manon was first presented in 1874 by the Royal Ballet at the Royal Opera House, with Antoinette Sibley, Anthony Dowell, David Wall, and Derek Rencer in the principal roles. The Royal Ballet has provided San Francisco Ballet with their lavish Manon sets and costumes, which are rarely sent outside the UK.
The music by Jules Massenet is taken from several of his operas. Curiously, none of the music comes from from Massenet's opera Manon. Messenet's score will be performed live by San Francisco Ballet Orchestra under Music Director & Principal Conductor Martin West.
In keeping with Manon's theme, SF Ballet's production includes a stylized Opera House setting with lobby activations that include interactive features for guests to indulge in the elegance and fashion of 18th-century France. The Opera House bars will serve a specialty cocktail inspired by the themes of Manon.
Manon will appear at the War Memorial Opera House in San Francisco from January 24th through February 1st. To learn about the principal characters, see San Francisco Ballet's Who's Who in Manon. For more information, see San Francisco Ballet.