What is Jules Massenet?
[[File:Jules massenet.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Jules Massenet]] '''Jules Massenet''' (born Montaud nr. [[Saint-Étienne]], 12 May 1842; died [[Paris]], 13 August 1912) was a [[France|French]] composer. He is most famous for his [[opera]]s, although he wrote a large amount of other music as well. == His life == === Early years === Jules’ father had a business making [[agricultural]] [[tool]]s. His mother gave him his first piano lessons. In 1847 his father retired and the family moved to [[Paris]]. When he was ten years old he went to the [[Paris Conservatoire]] for piano and [[solfège]] studies. Over a period of ten years he studied there, gaining many prizes. He was taught [[composition (music)|composition]] by [[Ambroise Thomas]] who was an excellent music teacher. Jules earned enough money to keep himself by giving piano lessons. He also played [[timpani]] in the orchestra of the [[Théâtre Lyrique]]. This helped him to get a good knowledge of French composers such as [[Gounod]] (especially his ''[[Faust (opera)|Faust]]'') as well as music by [[Gluck]], [[Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart|Mozart]] and [[Beethoven]]. He was also very keen on the music of [[Berlioz]] and [[Richard Wagner|Wagner]]. In 1863 he won the [[Prix de Rome]] (it was his second attempt). This allowed him to spend two years in [[Italy]]. During this time he travelled a lot but hardly composed anything. === Early career === In 1866 he returned to Paris where he married. He gave piano lessons. At this stage he had hardly written anything important. However, soon he was to start writing many famous works. He became friends with other composers: [[Saint-Saëns]], [[Bizet]], [[Delibes]], [[Lalo]], [[Fauré]], [[Duparc]] and others. Several of these people competed in writing operas for competitions. Massenet wrote several works, but he found writing operas difficult. His operas never won any prizes. === Years of fame === In 1870 he served in the National Guard during the [[Franco-Prussian war]]. After the war he continued to compose, and he became prof