This is a complete list of operas by the French composer Jules Massenet (1842–1912). Several of Massenet's operas were premiered by the Opéra-Comique in Paris, first at the second Salle Favart (Favart 2), followed by the Théâtre Lyrique on the Place du Châtelet (Lyrique), and then the third Salle Favart (Favart 3).
List
edit| Title | Genre | Acts | Libretto | Premiere | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Venue | ||||
| Esméralda | opéra | after Victor Hugo, Notre-Dame de Paris | composed c. 1865, but unfinished | ||
| La coupe du roi de Thulé | opéra | 3 acts | Édouard Blau and Louis Gallet, based on Goethe's 1774 poem "Der König in Thule" | composed c. 1866, but unperformed | |
| La grand'tante | opéra comique | 1 act | Jules Adenis and Charles Granvallet | 3 April 1867 | Paris, Opéra-Comique (Favart 2) |
| Manfred | opéra | Jules Ruelle, after Byron's Manfred | composed c. 1869, but unfinished | ||
| Méduse | 3 acts | Michel Carré | composed 1870 | ||
| Don César de Bazan | opéra comique | 3 acts | Adolphe d'Ennery, Philippe François Pinel Dumanoir and Jules Chantepie, after Victor Hugo, Ruy Blas | 30 November 1872, revised 20 January 1888 | Paris, Opéra-Comique (Favart 2); revision Geneva |
| L'adorable Bel'-Boul | opérette | 1 act | Louis Gallet | 17 April 1874 | Paris, Cercle des Mirlitons |
| Les templiers | composed c. 1875, but lost | ||||
| Bérangère et Anatole | sainete | 1 act | Henri Meilhac and Paul Poirson | February 1876 | Paris, Cercle de l'Union artistique |
| Le roi de Lahore | opéra | 5 acts | Louis Gallet | 27 April 1877 | Paris, Opéra Garnier |
| Robert de France | drame lyrique | composed c. 1880, but unperformed, lost | |||
| Les Girondins | opéra | composed 1881, lost | |||
| Hérodiade; rev. as: Erodiade | opéra | 3 acts; rev.: 4 acts | Paul Milliet and Georges Hartmann, after Gustave Flaubert, Hérodias, Nr. 3 der Trois Contes | 19 December 1881, revised 1 February 1884, | Brussels, Théâtre de la Monnaie, revision Paris, Théâtre Italien |
| Manon | opéra comique | 5 acts | Henri Meilhac and Philippe Gille, after Antoine François Prévost, L'histoire du chevalier Des Grieux et de Manon Lescaut | 19 January 1884 | Paris, Opéra-Comique (Favart 2) |
| Le Cid | opéra | 4 acts | Adolphe d'Ennery, Louis Gallet and Édouard Blau, after Pierre Corneille | 30 November 1885 | Paris, Opéra Garnier |
| Esclarmonde | opéra romanesque | 4 acts | Alfred Blau and Louis-Ferdinand de Gramont | 15 May 1889 | Paris, Opéra Comique (Lyrique) |
| Le mage | opéra | 5 acts | Jean Richepin | 16 March 1891 | Paris, Opéra Garnier |
| Werther | drame lyrique | 4 acts | Édouard Blau, Paul Milliet and Georges Hartmann, after Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Die Leiden des jungen Werther (German translation for Vienna: Max Kalbeck) | 16 February 1892 (in German), 16 January 1893 (in French) | Vienna, Hofopera; Paris, Opéra-Comique (Lyrique) |
| Thaïs | opéra | 3 acts | Louis Gallet, after the novel of the same name by Anatole France | 16 March 1894, revised 13 April 1898 | Paris, Opéra Garnier (and revised) |
| Le portrait de Manon | opéra comique | 1 act | Georges Boyer | 8 May 1894 | Paris, Opéra-Comique (Lyrique) |
| La Navarraise | épisode lyrique | 2 acts | Jules Claretie and Henri Cain, after Claretie, La cigarette | 20 June 1894 | London, Royal Opera House Covent Garden |
| Sapho | pièce lyrique | 5 acts | Henri Cain and Arthur Bernède, after Alphonse Daudet | 7 November 1897, revised 22 January 1909 | Paris, Opéra-Comique (Lyrique); revised Opéra-Comique (Favart 3); |
| Cendrillon | conte de fées | 4 acts | Henri Cain, after Charles Perrault, Cendrillon ou La Petite Pantoufle | 24 May 1899 | Paris, Opéra-Comique (Favart 3) |
| Grisélidis | conte lyrique | prologue and 3 acts | Armand Silvestre and Eugène Morand | 20 November 1901 | Paris, Opéra-Comique (Favart 3) |
| Le jongleur de Notre-Dame | miracle | 3 acts | Maurice Léna, after Anatole France, L'etui de nacre | 18 February 1902 | Monte Carlo, Opéra |
| Chérubin | comédie chantée | 3 acts | François de Croisset and Henri Cain | 14 February 1905 | Monte Carlo, Opéra |
| Ariane | opéra | 5 acts | Catulle Mendès | 31 October 1906 | Paris, Opéra Garnier |
| Thérèse | drame musical | 2 acts | Jules Claretie | 7 February 1907 | Monte Carlo, Opéra |
| Bacchus | opéra | 4 acts | Catulle Mendès | 5 May 1909 | Paris, Opéra Garnier |
| Don Quichotte | comédie héroïque | 5 acts | Henri Cain, after Jacques Le Lorrain, Le chevalier de la longue figure | 19 February 1910 | Monte Carlo, Opéra |
| Roma | opéra tragique | 5 acts | Henri Cain, after A. Parodi, Roma vaincue | 17 February 1912 | Monte Carlo, Opéra |
| Panurge | haulte farce musical | 3 acts | Maurice Boukay and Georges Spitzmüller, after François Rabelais, La vie inestimable de Gargantua and Faits et dits héroïques du grand Pantagruel | 25 April 1913 | Paris, Théâtre de la Gaîté |
| Cléopâtre | opéra | 4 acts | Louis Payen (A. Liénard) | 23 February 1914 | Monte Carlo, Opéra composed c. 1895 |
| Amadis | opéra légendaire | 4 acts | Jules Claretie | 1 April 1922 (composed c. 1895) |
Monte Carlo, Opéra |
References
editSources
- Thompson, Kenneth and Wright, Stella J (1992), "Massenet, Jules" in The New Grove Dictionary of Opera, ed. Stanley Sadie (London) ISBN 0-333-73432-7
- Wild, Nicole; Charlton, David (2005). Théâtre de l'Opéra-Comique Paris: répertoire 1762-1972. Sprimont, Belgium: Editions Mardaga. ISBN 978-2-87009-898-1.
