# Jules Massenet (1842-1912)



## Meyerbeer Smith

Massenet deserves a thread! Everyone knows _Manon_ and _Werther_, and the Méditation from _Thaïs_, but there's so much more to his work.

Massenet's distinguishing characteristic is his proteiformity; he reinvents himself with every score.
He is perhaps the most varied of any opera composer. His operas include the exoticism of _Le roi de Lahore _and _Le mage_; the austere classicism of _Roma_; the intimate domesticity of _Werther_, a tragedy of well-intentioned people; the heroic magnificence of _Le Cid_ or _Esclarmonde_; the light and grace of _Ariane_; _Grisélidis_'s mixture of lyricism, devilry and religion; the Rabelaisian farce of _Panurge_, complete with chorus of sheep; the verismo intensity of _La Navarraise_; and the delicate melancholy of _Cendrillon_. He is as much at home in the powdered eighteenth century boudoirs of _Manon _as he is in the Hindu paradises of _Le roi de Lahore_, the Gothic churches of the _Jongleur_, or the gunshot and cannons of _La Navarraise_.

Extant operas
•	_*La grand'tante*_ (1867) - opéra comique
•	_*Don César de Bazan*_ (1872, revised 1888) - opéra comique
•	_*L'adorable Bel'-Boul*_ (1874) - opérette
•	_*Bérangère et Anatole*_ (1876) - sainete
•	_*Le roi de Lahore*_ (1877) - opéra
•	_*Hérodiade*_ (1881, revised 1884) - opéra 
•	_*Manon *_(1884) - opéra comique
•	_*Le Cid *_(1885) - opéra
•	*Esclarmonde* (1889) - opéra romanesque
•	*Le mage* (1891) - opéra
•	*Werther* (1892/1893) - drame lyrique
•	*Thaïs* (1894, revised 1898) - opéra
•	*Le portrait de Manon* (1894) - opéra comique
•	*La Navarraise* (1894) - épisode lyrique
•	*Sapho* (1897, revised 1909) - pièce lyrique
•	*Cendrillon* (1899) - conte de fées
•	*Grisélidis* (1901) - conte lyrique
•	*Le jongleur de Notre-Dame* (1902) - miracle
•	*Chérubin* (1905) - comédie chantée
•	*Ariane* (1906) - opéra
•	*Thérèse* (1907) - drame musical
•	*Bacchus* (1909) - opéra
•	*Don Quichotte* (1910) - comédie héroïque
•	*Roma* (1912) - opéra tragique
•	*Panurge* (1913) - haulte farce musical
•	*Cléopâtre* (1914) - opéra
•	*Amadis* (composed c. 1895; first performed 1922) - opéra légendaire


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## Meyerbeer Smith

Some highlights from lesser known operas:
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## Meyerbeer Smith

Well, I've done it. I've heard recordings of every Massenet opera that's been recorded.

(Five haven't been - four early operas bouffes et comiques and Bacchus. )

One could make a solid argument that Massenet was the best of all opera composers. He's without doubt the most versatile; his characters are truthful (naturalism and psychological insight); and he fits the music to the text. He unites the free flowing Wagnerian music drama with the French opera comique, grand opera and opera lyrique styles to create his own idiom - one that would influence a whole generation of French composers, Richard Strauss in Germany and Puccini in Italy. He's a brilliant orchestrator, who could describe a place or time or person in music. He moves seamlessly between recit and song and orchestra, without letting the symphonic element dominate. 

And all while being one of the most loved of all musicians.

Several of his operas are first rate, but in different styles and genres:
Manon
Esclarmonde 
Werther
Thais 
Cendrillon 
Griselidis 
Le jongleur de Notre Dame
Cherubin
Ariane 
Don Quichotte 
Roma

And possibly Amadis.


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## Pugg

I do love your devotion to French opera! :tiphat:


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## Rogerx

View attachment 103600


May 12th 1842, Montaud, France
August 13 1912, Paris, France

This is one of my favourite composers birthday.


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## Sloe

I have heard Manon, Werther, Esclarmonde and Cendrillon. I think his operas are not bad but not my favourites. His operas are rather even so you don't get dissapointed. I think Manon Lescaut is better than Manon even if it is a quite good opera.
I give his operas 3 out of 5 bullets.


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## Bernamej

Oh man...now that I’ve been sold to Bellini, Donizetti and Rossini, I’m starting to think I could like Massenet. Always thought it was some kind of pop music with orchestra but I’m sure that there must be much good stuff there.


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