Stamps of France: Composer Jules Massenet

JULES MASSENET

(12 May 1842 – 13 August 1912)

Jules Émile Frédéric Massenet was born in Montaud, Loire, France, and died in Paris, France. He was a French composer best known for his operas. His compositions were very popular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and he ranks as one of the greatest melodists of his era.

Massenet worked continuously throughout his life, completing a great deal of music in addition to his 25 published operas. His approximately 250 songs often reflect the same melodic ingenuity and expressiveness that define his operatic works.

Massenet composed several song cycles, including "Poème d'Avril "(April Poem). Among the most famous are "Ouvre tes yeux bleus" (Open your blue eyes) and "Si tu veux, Mignonne" (If you wish it, sweetheart).

The composer's First Orchestral Suite premiered in 1867. This was the first of seven suites by Massenet, with programmatic subjects ranging from Alsace "Scenes Alsaciennes" (Alsatian Scenes), 1882, to Hungary "Scenes Hongroises" (Hungarian Scenes 1871), and from Shakespeare "Scenes Dramatiques" (Dramatic Scenes), 1875, to Fairyland "Scenes de Féerie" (Fairy Tale Scenes), 1881.

The most famous of his orchestral suites, "Scenes pittoresques" (Picturesque Scenes) was first performed in Paris during March of 1874. Massenet also composed several ballets, including "La Cigale", "Espada" and "Les Rosati". In addition to "Marie-Magdeleine", his oratorios include "Eve" (1875) and "La Terre Promise" (The Promised Land), 1900. He wrote a considerable amount of incidental music for plays, including "Sardou's Le Crocodile" (1886) and "Racine's Phedre" (1900). His only piano concerto was first performed in 1903.

Soon after his death, Massenet's style went out of fashion, and many of his operas fell into almost total oblivion. Apart from "Manon" and "Werther", his works were rarely performed. However, since the mid-1970s, many operas of his such as "Thaïs" and "Esclarmonde" have undergone periodic revivals.

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