From the Opera by Jules Massenet

1842-1912

When I found this figurine of a beautiful woman wearing such a magnificent hat, I knew she would be the centerpiece of one of my violins. And Manon came to mind. Lovely innocent Manon who, while on her way to enter a convent, becomes distracted by the bright lights and fashionably dressed women of Paris. She soon becomes the mistress of a powerful man and later a common prostitute. Along with other women of ill-fame, she is deported to prison in the Louisiana Territory of America. While trying to escape, she dies in the arms of her one true love. Poor, beautiful Manon.