Massenet and opera: richness and diversity

Massenet (1842-1912) is known above all for two works, Manon and Werther, and to these have been added another four: Hérodiade, Thaïs, Don Quichotte and Cendrillon, which are now enjoying renewed popularity. However, his output was much larger than that: twenty-five complete operatic works have come down to us (not counting Marie-Magdeleine, an oratorio written in 1873 and staged in 1903). But his output has been largely neglected because of its singularity: few people realise that Massenet experimented with opera far more than most other composers, thus creating a multi-faceted world all of his own.