Victor Massé (born ''Félix-Marie Massé''; 7 March 1822 – 5 July 1884) was a French composer.

Biography

Massé was born in

Lorient Lorient (; ) is a town (''Communes of France, commune'') and Port, seaport in the Morbihan Departments of France, department of Brittany (administrative region), Brittany in western France. History Prehistory and classical antiquity Beginn ...

(

Morbihan Morbihan ( , ; br, Mor-Bihan ) is a department in the administrative region of Brittany, situated in the northwest of France. It is named after the Morbihan (''small sea'' in Breton), the enclosed sea that is the principal feature of the coastli ...

) and studied at the

Paris Conservatoire The Conservatoire de Paris (), also known as the Paris Conservatory, is a college of music and dance founded in 1795. Officially known as the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris (CNSMDP), it is situated in the avenue ...

, winning the

Prix de Rome The Prix de Rome () or Grand Prix de Rome was a French scholarship for arts students, initially for painters and sculptors, that was established in 1663 during the reign of Louis XIV of France. Winners were awarded a bursary that allowed them t ...

in 1844 for his

cantata A cantata (; ; literally "sung", past participle feminine singular of the Italian verb ''cantare'', "to sing") is a vocal composition with an instrumental accompaniment, typically in several movements, often involving a choir. The meaning of ...

''Le Rénégat de Tanger'' before turning his attention to

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...

. While at the Conservatoire, Massé studied with Jaques Halévy. He wrote some twenty operas, including ''La Chanteuse voilée'' (1850), followed by the more ambitious ''Galathée'' (1852) and ''Paul et Virginie'' (1876). His best-known and most successful work was the ''

opéra comique ''Opéra comique'' (; plural: ''opéras comiques'') is a genre of French opera that contains spoken dialogue and arias. It emerged from the popular '' opéras comiques en vaudevilles'' of the Fair Theatres of St Germain and St Laurent (and to a l ...

'' ''

Les Noces de Jeannette ''Les noces de Jeannette'' (''Jeannette's Wedding'') is an '' opéra comique'' in one act by Victor Massé to a libretto by Jules Barbier and Michel Carré. It had its premiere in Paris in the Salle Favart at the Opéra-Comique, 4 February 1853. ...

'' (1853). His last work, ''Une Nuit de Cléopâtre'', was performed posthumously in April 1885. Massé died in Paris and is buried in

Montmartre Cemetery The Cemetery of Montmartre (french: link=no, Cimetière de Montmartre) is a cemetery in the 18th arrondissement of Paris, France, that dates to the early 19th century. Officially known as the Cimetière du Nord, it is the third largest necropolis ...

. in the

9th arrondissement of Paris The 9th arrondissement of Paris (''IXe arrondissement'') is one of the 20 arrondissements of the capital city of France. In spoken French, this arrondissement is referred to as the neuvième (; "ninth"). The arrondissement, called Opéra, is loc ...

is named after him.

Operas

* ''La Chambre gothique'', opéra (1849) * ''La Chanteuse voilée'' (1850, text by

Eugène Scribe Augustin Eugène Scribe (; 24 December 179120 February 1861) was a French dramatist and librettist. He is known for writing "well-made plays" ("pièces bien faites"), a mainstay of popular theatre for over 100 years, and as the librettist of man ...

and

Adolphe de Leuven Adolphe de Leuven (30 September 1802 – 14 April 1884) was a French theatre director and a librettist. Also known as Grenvallet, and Count Adolph Ribbing. He was the illegitimate son of Adolph Ribbing, who was involved in the assassination of G ...

) * ''Galathée'' (1852, text by

Jules Barbier Paul Jules Barbier (8 March 182516 January 1901) was a French poet, writer and opera librettist who often wrote in collaboration with Michel Carré. He was a noted Parisian bon vivant and man of letters.Michel Carré Michel Carré (20 October 1821, Besançon – 27 June 1872, Argenteuil) was a prolific French librettist. He went to Paris in 1840 intending to become a painter but took up writing instead. He wrote verse and plays before turning to writing libre ...

)) * ''

'',

(1853, text by J. Barbier and M. Carré) * ''La Fiancée du diable'' (1854, text by

and H. Romand) * ''Miss Fauvette'' (1855, text by J. Barbier and M. Carré) * ''Les Saisons'' (1855, text by J. Barbier and M. Carré) * ''La Reine Topaze'' (1856, text by

Lockroy Joseph-Philippe Simon, called Lockroy (February 17, 1803 – January 19, 1891)Death notice
in ''

Battu) * ''Les Chaises à porteurs'' (1858, text by

Dumanoir Philippe François Pinel, known as Dumanoir (31 July 1806 – 16 November 1865), was a French playwright and librettist. Biography Dumanoir was born in Capesterre-Belle-Eau, Guadeloupe. He was the son of Mrs. Pinel-Dumanoir, whose family plante ...

and Clairville) * ''La Fée Carabosse'' (1859, text by

Lockroy Joseph-Philippe Simon, called Lockroy (February 17, 1803 – January 19, 1891)Death notice
in ''

Frères Cogniard The Cogniard brothers were two French brothers who worked as playwrights and theatre directors, producing an incalculable number of vaudevilles, reviews, féeries and operettas. The elder of the two was Charles-Théodore or Théodore Cogniard (30 ...

) * ''La Mule de Pedro'' (1863, text by

) * ''Fior d'Aliza'' (1866, after Lamartine) * ''Le Fils du brigadier'' (1867, text by

Eugène Labiche Eugene is a common male given name that comes from the Greek εὐγενής (''eugenēs''), "noble", literally "well-born", from εὖ (''eu''), "well" and γένος (''genos''), "race, stock, kin".The works of Antonin Mercié ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

References

* Volker Dehs: "Jules Verne entre Léo Delibes, Halévy et Victor Massé", in ''Revue Jules Verne'', no. 24: ''Jules Verne et la musique'' (2007), p. 97–102. {{DEFAULTSORT:Masse, Victor 1822 births 1884 deaths 19th-century classical composers 19th-century French composers 19th-century French male musicians Academic staff of the Conservatoire de Paris Burials at Montmartre Cemetery Conservatoire de Paris alumni French male classical composers French opera composers French operetta composers French Romantic composers Male opera composers Musicians from Lorient Prix de Rome for composition