All roads start from Rome...

Although he produced some fine instrumental music and art songs,Max d’Ollone was above all a composer of works for the stage, the author of ten operas, five of which were performed at the Opéra or the Opéra-Comique in Paris. In that, he appears to have been predestined. From his earliest childhood he was influenced not only by the operas he saw at the theatre in Besançon, where he discovered with delight the scores of Richard Wagner, but also by his encounters with Jules Massenet and Camille Saint-Saëns, who very early on recognised his ‘aptitude for music’ (as he modestly put it) and constantly showed him friendship and encouragement. The period he spent in Rome (1897-1901) enabled him to broaden his scope and affirm his commitment to the theatre with the composition of his first opera, Jean.

From the CD-Book Max d'Ollone. Cantates, chœurs et musique symphonique (Palazzetto Bru Zane, collection Prix de Rome, 2012). Translation: Mary Pardoe.