Rescued from her fate in a convent, Manon finds herself pulled between two suitors: Power and True Love. Opera’s original it-girl deftly invents and reinvents herself, transforming her circumstances even when the stakes turn deadly. Obie Award-winning director Rory Pelsue (NYT Critic's Pick The Last Bimbo of the Apocalypse, Pulitzer Prize finalist Circle Jerk) and Artistic Director Jacob Ashworth premiere a saucy English-language book and lyrics for this musical theatre revamp of Massenet's masterpiece. Dan Schlosberg channels Richard Rodgers and Rococo in his luscious new arrangements, and a glittering cast of opera-savvy Broadway voices bring an entirely new sound to Heartbeat Opera.

Manon!

The Space at Irondale

A lonely scholar makes a bargain with the devil, and all hell breaks loose. Heartbeat Opera’s distinctly American adaptation tells the story of Faust and Marguerite — a man who wildly misuses his regained youth, a young woman whose potential for life and love is cut tragically short, and the ravaged community left in their wake. Retelling one of most popular operas of all time, we ask what happens when the soul hasn’t evolved along with the mind? When voracious ego rules us, and reckless forward motion is all?

Yichen Zhou

Events

Past events

Jan 27 - Feb 8, 2026

Manon! · Heartbeat Opera

May 13, 2025

Faust · Heartbeat Opera

About

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