Massenet: Operas (16CD)

During the Belle Époque, Jules Massenet rose to become France’s leading composer of opera, as notable for his acute dramatic sense as for the refined sensuality of his music. Encompassing three decades of his career, and settings as diverse as Biblical Judea and the Paris of Massenet’s time, the seven operas in this box range from the enduringly popular Manon and Werther through works occasionally revived for star singers (Thaïs and Don Quichotte) to three fascinating rarities (Hérodiade, Le Jongleur de Notre Dame and Sapho). They represent nearly 40 years of recording history and feature a host of celebrated singers and conductors from France and around the world.