Giacomo Puccini's first major operatic success, "Manon Lescaut," is also one of his most passionate. The breathtaking beauty Manon enchants all who behold her and brings the young suitor des Grieux his first taste of love. Spanning the area between the joys of youthful vigor and the pitfalls of doomed romance, this deeply tragic masterpiece reveals Puccini as he first came into possession of his full gifts as a composer.