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 The Morbihan ( , ; ) is a departments of France, department in the administrative region of Brittany (administrative region), Brittany, situated in the northwest of France. It is named after the Gulf of Morbihan, Morbihan (''small sea'' in Breton ...

) and studied at the

Paris Conservatoire The Conservatoire de Paris (), or 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 Jean Ja ...

, 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 language, Italian verb ''cantare'', "to sing") is a vocal music, vocal Musical composition, composition with an musical instrument, instrumental accompaniment, ty ...

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

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

. 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 Théâtre de la foire, Fair Theatres of St Germain and S ...

'' '' Les Noces de Jeannette'' (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 () 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 Paris, after the Père Lachaise Cemet ...

. 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, it is referred to as (; "ninth"). The arrondissement, called Opéra, is located on the right bank of th ...

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) * ''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.

and Michel Carré)) * '' Les Noces de Jeannette'',

(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 and Battu) * ''Les Chaises à porteurs'' (1858, text by Dumanoir and Clairville) * ''La Fée Carabosse'' (1859, text by Lockroy and Frères Cogniard) * ''La Mule de Pedro'' (1863, text by Dumanoir) * ''Fior d'Aliza'' (1866, after Lamartine) * ''Le Fils du brigadier'' (1867, text by Eugène Labiche and Delacour) * ''Paul and Virginie'' (1876, text by J. Barbier and M. Carré) * ''Une Nuit de Cléopâtre'' (1885, text by J. Barbier)

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 French classical composers 19th-century French male musicians Academic staff of the Conservatoire de Paris Burials at Montmartre Cemetery Conservatoire de Paris alumni French opera composers French operetta composers French Romantic composers French male opera composers Musicians from Lorient Prix de Rome for composition

Biography

Operas

See also

References