From 17 March to 1 April 2026, Josep Pons conducts Giacomo Puccini’s Manon Lescaut at the Gran Teatre del Liceu. Directed by Àlex Ollé of La Fura dels Baus, the production marks the return of one of Puccini’s greatest operas during Josep Pons’s final season as the theatre’s Music Director.
Premiered in Turin in 1893, Manon Lescaut was Puccini’s first major operatic success and established him among the leading composers of his generation. Based on the novel by the Abbé Prévost, it tells the story of the passionate relationship between Manon and Des Grieux, a love shaped by desire, ambition and a tragic destiny that ultimately leads both characters to destruction.
Àlex Ollé’s staging places the story in a contemporary setting and explores the vulnerability of the heroine and the social mechanisms that turn the female body into an object of consumption. Without altering the dramatic essence of the opera, the production creates a dialogue between the original narrative and issues that remain deeply relevant today.
The cast is led by soprano Asmik Grigorian as Manon and tenor Joshua Guerrero as Des Grieux, supported by an internationally acclaimed ensemble.
Leading the Gran Teatre del Liceu Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, Josep Pons conducts one of the most demanding scores of Puccini’s early career. The music combines the dramatic intensity of the Italian operatic tradition with increasingly sophisticated orchestral writing, anticipating many of the qualities that would define the composer’s mature masterpieces.
Manon Lescaut occupies a central place within Puccini’s output thanks to its powerful theatrical impact and richly expressive musical language. Pages such as the celebrated Intermezzo and the final scene have become enduring landmarks of the operatic repertoire.
The production stands among the major projects of the Liceu’s 2025/26 season and further reinforces Puccini’s important place within Josep Pons’s artistic journey at the theatre.