Polina Semionova & Igor Zelensky: Manon (Act I, Scene 2)

A passionate performance with Polina Semionova (Staatsballett Berlin) and Igor Zelensky (Mariinsky Ballet) from the ballet Manon, at the 2006 All Star Prague International Ballet Gala at the Prague State Opera.
Choreography by Kenneth McMillan, Music by Jules Massenet (arr. Leithon Lucas).

Act I, Scene 2: Des Grieux's lodgings in Paris
Des Grieux is writing a letter to his father but Manon interrupts by declaring her love for him.

L'histoire de Manon, generally referred to as Manon, is a ballet choreographed by Kenneth MacMillan to music by Jules Massenet and based on the 1731 novel Manon Lescaut by Abbé Prévost. The ballet was first performed by The Royal Ballet in London in 1974 with Antoinette Sibley and Anthony Dowell in the leading roles. MacMillan chose not to use music from Massenet's opera Manon, instead selecting other well-known pieces by the same composer such as Elegie and Méditation. The music, originally arranged and partially orchestrated by the British composer Leighton Lucas and re-orchestrated by the conductor Martin Yates in 2011, draws on thirteen operas and two oratorios as well as Massenet's orchestral suites, various mélodies and piano works.

Antoinette Sibley and Anthony Dowell were selected by MacMillan to create the roles of Manon and Des Grieux. The first performance was at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden on 7 March 1974