San Francisco Opera's staging of Jules Massenet's Manon has four performances left before it closes out its run at the War Memorial Opera House, and the production's central romance carries some real offstage chemistry — soprano Amina Edris and tenor Pene Pati, who play the doomed lovers Manon and the Chevalier des Grieux, are married in real life.
The opera, which SFGATE describes as San Francisco Opera's production of Massenet's most popular work, has been running since Oct. 15 and wraps up with 7:30 p.m. performances on Saturday, Oct. 24, and Oct. 27 and 30, plus a 2 p.m. matinee Nov. 1. According to a San Francisco Opera press release, the seven-show run began Oct. 15 and is conducted by Music Director Eun Sun Kim in a production directed by Vincent Boussard. The opera is performed in French with English supertitles.
Manon follows a young ingenue who runs away with Des Grieux to Paris, only to later abandon him for wealth and power, per SFGATE's account of the story. The company's own description of the opera notes that she falls for the handsome Chevalier des Grieux and the two run away together, setting up the opera's push-and-pull between love and material comfort. One of the production's key turns comes in a church reunion scene, in which Manon tries to win back Des Grieux before he can enter a monastery, SFGATE reports.
A Real Marriage Onstage
San Francisco Opera's press materials confirm that Pati is, offstage, the husband of Edris — a detail the company highlighted in promoting this revival. The pairing isn't just a casting novelty: Pati has built a reputation in French repertoire, and in May 2026 he was knighted by the French government and named Chevalier de l'ordre des Arts et des Lettres, according to the opera company's release.
That pedigree showed in the reviews. A San Francisco Chronicle review by critic Steven Winn called Pati the production's vocal star, while finding that Edris has her moments but lacks his full immersion in the role. The same review found the production slow to find its emotional footing, noting it takes nearly an hour to reach its first emotionally engaging moment.
Run Time and Ticket Details
The Chronicle's review described the opera as feeling like a long three-and-a-half hours, so audiences should plan for a substantial evening.
Ticket prices were also reported differently across outlets. SFGATE listed Manon tickets at $30 to $447, while the Chronicle's review cited a range of $30 to $456. Tickets remain available through sfopera.com or by calling 415-864-3330, per SFGATE's reporting.
A Livestream Option and International Ties
Audiences who can't make it to the War Memorial Opera House had another way in: the Oct. 21 performance was livestreamed at 7:30 p.m. Pacific time and made available on demand for 48 hours, with tickets for that livestream and on-demand window priced at $25, according to San Francisco Opera's release. The first three performances, on Oct. 15, 18 and 21, also featured OperaVision HD video projection screens on the Balcony level, per the opera company's production page.
This particular staging is a co-production with the Lithuanian National Opera and Ballet Theatre and the Israeli Opera, San Francisco Opera's website notes. The company first presented Manon in San Francisco back in 1924, giving this fall's revival a century of local history behind it. Photos from the current production, including images of Edris and Pati together onstage, were captured by photographer Cory Weaver, according to Bay City News, a 24/7 news service covering the greater Bay Area that first reported on the production's final stretch.
