Jules Émile Frédéric Massenet (12 May 1842 – 13 August 1912) was a French composer of the Romantic era best known for his operas, of which he wrote more than thirty. The two most frequently staged are Manon (1884) and Werther (1892). He also composed oratorios, ballets, orchestral works, incidental music, piano pieces, songs and other music.
While still a schoolboy, Massenet was admitted to France's principal music college, the Paris Conservatoire. There he studied under Ambroise Thomas, whom he greatly admired. After winning the country's top musical prize, the Prix de Rome, in 1863, he composed prolifically in many genres, but quickly became best known for his operas. Between 1867 and his death forty-five years later he wrote more than forty stage works in a wide variety of styles, from opéra-comique to grand-scale depictions of classical myths, romantic comedies, lyric dramas, as well as oratorios, cantatas and ballets. Massenet had a good sense of the theatre and of what would succeed with the Parisian public. Despite some miscalculations, he produced a series of successes that made him the leading composer of opera in France in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Like many prominent French composers of the period, Massenet became a professor at the Conservatoire. He taught composition there from 1878 until 1896, when he resigned after the death of the director, Ambroise Thomas. Among his students were Gustave Charpentier, Ernest Chausson, Reynaldo Hahn and Gabriel Pierné.
By the time of his death, Massenet was regarded by many critics as old-fashioned and unadventurous although his two best-known operas remained popular in France and abroad. After a few decades of neglect, his works began to be favourably reassessed during the mid-20th century, and many of them have since been staged and recorded. Although critics do not rank him among the handful of outstanding operatic geniuses such as Mozart, Verdi and Wagner, his operas are now widely accepted as well-crafted and intelligent products of the Belle Époque.
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Some of their strengths
Jules Massenet has many admirable traits.
Based on spiritual traditions from around the world, they are someone who can be described as Passionate, Strong, Physical, Charming, Energetic, Intelligent, and Altruistic.
Strong and Diligent
According to Mysticism’s Astrology tradition, Jules Massenet is someone who is a strong, diligent, and trustworthy person who approaches life with honesty and perseverance, but who is also physical, sensual, and artistic. A person who seems to identify with family, heritage and ancestry.
Warm and Caring
Based on Daoism’s Ba-Zi or ‘Chinese Zodiac’ tradition, people who know Jules Massenet well know them as someone who can be warm, caring, and compassionate, like a lamp or torch.
Organized and Achievement-oriented
According to Hinduism’s Jyotisha or ‘Vedic Astrology’ tradition, many would also describe Jules Massenet as someone who is organized, goal-oriented, practical, and persevering.
Who is hardworking, intellectual, and easygoing, who loves higher education and learning and sharing ideas with others, and who loves healthy competition.
Charismatic and Instinctual
Based on the Mayan Tzolk’in or ‘Mayan Astrology’ tradition, Jules Massenet is someone who handles stress better than most people, and who tends to have a powerful charisma and convictions.
They are also someone who is intuitive, imaginative, and an agent of change, and who is always dreaming of life's great possibilities and partnering with people to try to achieve those possibilities.
Patient and Compassionate
According to Judaism’s Kabbalah tradition, Jules Massenet tends to be someone who approaches life with grace and compassion, and who has a powerful and commanding personality. Who can be analytical, patient, and deliberate, avoiding risks and seeking out stability instead.
Some of Jules Massenet's challenges
While Jules Massenet has many strengths, nobody is perfect. They also have some challenging traits they need to manage.
For example, Jules Massenet can be Self-centered, Rebellious, Callous, Emotional, Stubborn, Idle, and Hypocritical.
Stubborn and Idle
One of Jules Massenet's key challenges is that they are someone who can be seen as stubborn and, at times, lazy.
Callous and Selfish
Jules Massenet is someone who can be standoffish, pessimistic, and ruthless, who can have difficulty concentrating and be impatient, can have difficulty discovering the keys to personal contentment, and who can have a tendency to overwork and hoard wealth and possessions.
Materialistic and Aggressive
Finally, Jules Massenet also can be materialistic, emotional, aggressive, stubborn, inconsistent, and be prone to big temper outbursts.
