| Jules Massenet |
Article Index for Jules |
Website Links For Jules |
Information AboutJules Massenet |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT JULES MASSENET | |
| romantic composers | |
| massenet, jules | |
| opera composers | |
| french composers | |
| prix de rome winners | |
| 1842 births | |
| 1912 deaths | |
|
Jules (Émile Frédéric) Massenet ( May 12 , 1842 – August 13 , 1912 ) was a French composer. He is best known for his Opera s, which were very popular in the late 19th and early 20th century; they afterwards fell into oblivion for the most part, but have undergone periodic revivals since the mid-1970's. BIOGRAPHY Massenet was born in Montaud, then an outlying hamlet and now a part of the city of Saint-Étienne , in the Loire . When he was eleven his family moved to Paris so that he could study at the Conservatoire there. In 1862 he won a ''Grand Prix de Rome'' and spent three years in Rome . His first opera was a one-act production at the at Opéra-Comique in 1867, but it was his dramatic Oratorio '' Marie-Magdeleine '' that won him the praise of the likes of Tchaikovsky and Gounod . Massenet took a break from his composing to serve as a soldier in the Franco-Prussian War , but returned to his art following the end of the conflict in 1871 . From 1878 he was professor of composition at the Paris Conservatory where his pupils included Gustave Charpentier , Reynaldo Hahn and Charles Koechlin . His greatest successes were '' Manon '' in 1884, '' Werther '' in 1892, and '' Thaïs '' in 1894. Notable later operas were '' Le Jongleur De Notre-Dame '', produced in 1902, and '' Don Quichotte '', produced in Monte Carlo 1910, with the legendary Russian bass Feodor Chaliapin in the title-role. In addition to his operas, he also composed concert '', which is a violin solo with orchestra, as well as the Aragonaise , from his opera '' Le Cid '' and ''Élégie'' for solo piano. The latter two pieces are commonly played by piano students. Opera
Oratorio and Cantata
Ballet
Orchestral
EXTERNAL LINKS
|
|
|