Florida Grand Opera is now presenting Manon Lescaut, in a lavishly costumed staging — check out the photos below — by director Bernard Uzan brought to Miami from L'Op_ra de Montr_al. Soprano Sylvie Valayre and tenor Hugh Smith star as Manon and her loving Chevalier des Grieux. Baritone David Kempster plays Lescaut (Manon's brother), with bass Donato di Stefano as Geronte and baritone Douglas Perry as the Dancing Master.

The production opened on January 27 at Florida Grand Opera's new home, the Ziff Ballet Opera House at the Carnival Center in Miami, under the baton of Angelo Cavallaro. There will be two further performances there this weekend, on February 9 and 11, followed by two performances in Fort Lauderdale, on February 15 and 17, at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts with Andrew Bisantz on the podium. Information and tickets are available at www.fgo.org.

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All photos by Debra Gray Mitchell