Jules Émile Frédéric Massenet (1842–1912) was a French composer of the Romantic era, born near Saint-Étienne. He studied at the Paris Conservatoire, won the Prix de Rome in 1863, and went on to become one of the most successful opera composers of his generation, writing more than thirty operas. His two most frequently staged works are Manon (1884) and Werther (1892). He also composed oratorios, ballets, orchestral suites, incidental music, piano pieces, and songs, and taught composition at the Paris Conservatoire, where his students included Gustave Charpentier and Reynaldo Hahn.

Massenet was the leading French opera composer of the late 19th century, celebrated for his gift for lyrical melody and orchestral color. His “Méditation,” an orchestral entr’acte for solo violin from the opera Thaïs (1894), has become one of the most popular concert pieces of the era and is frequently arranged for guitar and other instruments.

Sources:

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jules_Massenet