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Glite Dictionary
Jules Massenet

Jules Massenet

1 8.8
A French composer of operas popular in the late 1800s
  • proper noun
: Jules Massenet
  • Many critics consider Jules Massenet’s opera 'Manon' to be his masterpiece.

Examples

  • The music of Jules Massenet still captivates opera audiences around the world.

  • Jules Massenet composed many famous operas.

  • As a student, he was inspired by the romantic style of Jules Massenet.

  • Did Jules Massenet write 'Thaïs'?

  • Many critics consider Jules Massenet’s opera 'Manon' to be his masterpiece.

  • The music of Jules Massenet still captivates opera audiences around the world.

  • As a student, he was inspired by the romantic style of Jules Massenet.

Surface Forms

Jules Massenet main

Morphology

Jules + Massenet

This is a proper name made of two personal-name tokens that carry no lexical meaning a learner can compose; knowing 'Jules' and 'Massenet' (both absent from dictionaries) does not allow a B1 learner to infer that the phrase refers to a French composer or the historical period. Proper names are referential rather than compositional across languages, so the occupational and biographical information is not derivable from the parts.

Etymology

Jules Massenet was a French 'composer' who wrote many popular 'operas' in the late 1800s, known for warm, romantic melodies. Imagine a crowded theatre moved to tears by his opera 'Manon'; that strong image helps explain why the name Jules Massenet now refers to that composer and his emotional operas.