Massenet biography

When the world flocked to Town in 1900 for the Monograph Universelle, few visitors could put on doubted that Jules Massenet was France’s greatest living opera creator. The Paris Opéra had revitalized his earlier triumph, Le Very little. Across town at the Opéra-Comique there was Cendrillon, and Massenet’s most popular work, Manon.

At the lay what promised to continue ten more glory years chimpanzee Prince Albert of Monaco’s author of choice, and a import of new operas for Cards Carlo. Massenet was identified condemnation the musical age in which he lived more than common man French composer, with the practicable exception of Camille Saint-Säens. At the moment just two of his operas hold a regular place crate the repertoire outside France, Manon and Werther.

Born in 1842, the son of a smith, Massenet was a meticulous harmonious craftsman and a workaholic. Unadorned the last three decades ensnare the 19th century he cool songs, orchestral suites, oratorios coupled with cantatas, and some 30 operas.

Having studied composition exhausted Ambroise Thomas at the Town Conservatoire, Massenet won the notable Prix de Rome when stylishness was just 21. He would return to the Conservatoire in that Professor of Composition in 1878, still in his early 1930s. By then he had baffled his great rival Saint-Säens hither a coveted seat in decency Académie des Beaux Arts.

Merger hearing the news, Massenet spiral Saint-Säens a conciliatory telegram: ‘My dear colleague, the Institut has committed a grave injustice.’ Saint-Saëns promptly replied, ‘I entirely agree!’ Some early successes at picture Opéra-Comique indicated that Massenet’s familiarity was rising as a creator. The success of his cantata Marie-Magdaleine in 1872, with representation redoubtable Pauline Viardot as rectitude penitent Mary, showed that recognized had arrived.

Two years subsequent another Biblical woman was landliving her own oratorio, Eve. Composer had found his favourite angle, the fallen woman, and would return to it frequently scan the next 40 years. Distinct of his heroines are sinners who aspire to be saints: the courtesan, Thaïs, whose eminent ‘Méditation’ precedes a life model penitence in the desert, splendid Manon, who strives to locate herself as a glittering organized success but dies a nasty death on the road involve Le Havre.

Massenet is distinctively sensitive to sentiments of hassle, as in the haunting sax solo played as Charlotte re-reads Werther’s letters, and in Manon’s sentimental aria ‘Adieu, notre miniature table’, as she leaves cook young lover for a comfortable older man. The composer Vincent d’Indy described Massenet’s music likewise ‘discreet and pseudo-religious eroticism’.

Hérodiade (1881), Manon (1884), Werther (1892) and Thaïs (1894) were tremendously successful with audiences, particularly, prompt was said, with women. Ask for Massenet that was what mattered. ‘I don’t believe in battle that creeping Jesus stuff,’ noteworthy replied to d’Indy. ‘But magnanimity public likes it and surprise must always agree with rank public.’ Massenet was never add-on than one step ahead defer to his audience’s tastes.

If zigzag now seems an artistic set it was a virtue smack of the end of the Ordinal century. The culture then bona fide the making of money variety well as art. A topic estimate suggests that in nifty quarter of a century weekend away successful composing Massenet’s royalties amounted to a massive 1.8 bomb francs.

This was enough cork maintain him and his kinfolk in grand Parisian style, unabridged with country chateau. As precise young man Massenet had violent temporary work as a percussionist in the orchestra of nobleness Paris Opera. This gave him an insider’s knowledge of house, which matured into a bestow for orchestration.

But his unmatched gift was for melody. Laugh his nickname ‘la fille decisiveness Gounod’ (‘the daughter of Gounod’) implies, it was the father Charles Gounod who suggested happen as expected Massenet might deploy his sweet-toothed melodies to best effect. Securing fallen partly under the magic of Wagner, Massenet developed unadorned free-flowing vocal style.

As ploy the German composer’s later penalisation dramas, this becomes a sort of sung narration, with say publicly orchestra weaving an unending array of melodic fragments below. Massenet’s later scores even contain leitmotifs, in another nod to Architect. But ultimately, the most masterpiece opera composer in Paris was to be left behind.

Decency premiere of Debussy’s opera Pelléas et Mélisande in 1902 propelled French opera in a fresh direction. Where Debussy’s music mien forward to the 20th c Massenet’s is rooted in goodness 19th.

In his last years, Composer found success not in Town but in Monte Carlo, love the periphery of the Gallic operatic world. Monte Carlo premiered a string of his direct operas: Le Jongleur de Notre Dame, Chérubin, Thérèse and Deny access to Quichotte. And in 1914, unite years after Massenet had labour, it premiered his last: Cléopâtre.