Jules Massenet (1842-1912)
The leading operatic composer of his generation in France, Jules Massenet studied at the Paris Conservatoire, winning the Prix de Rome in 1863. In Paris once more, after his obligatory three years’ stay at the Villa Medici in Rome, he achieved initial success with his operas Don César de Bazan and Marie-Magdeleine; the heroine of the latter, a repentant female sinner, exercised a particular interest and influence on Massenet’s future work. He maintained a dominant position in French opera at least until the appearance of Debussy’s Pelléas et Mélisande, although this innovative work nevertheless shows something of his influence.