Jules Massenet (12 May 1842 – 13 August 1912) was a French composer of the Romantic era best known for his operas. The two most frequently staged are Manon (1884) and Werther (1892). After winning the country's top prize in music, the Prix de Rome, in 1863, he composed prolifically in many genres. He wrote more than 40 stage works in a wide variety of styles, from opéra-comique to grand-scale depictions of classical myths, romantic comedies, and lyric dramas. He also composed oratorios, ballets, cantatas, orchestral works, incidental music, piano pieces, and songs. Massenet had a good sense of the theatre and of what would succeed with the Parisian public, and he became the most popular composer of opera in France in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Although critics do not rank him among operatic geniuses such as Mozart, Verdi and Wagner, his operas are now widely accepted as well-crafted and intelligent products of the Belle Époque.

Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jules_Massenet

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1863:

American Civil War: The Confederates were routed in the Battle of Raymond, a small battle that had an inordinately large impact on the Vicksburg Campaign. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Raymond

1941:

German engineer Konrad Zuse presented the Z3 (replica pictured), the world's first working programmable, fully automatic computer, to an audience of scientists in Berlin. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Z3_%28computer%29

1955:

The Allied occupation of Austria came to an end, with the nation regaining its independence ten years after the end of World War II. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allied-occupied_Austria

2006:

A cartoon that allegedly compared Iranian Azeris to cockroaches was published in a magazine, sparking riots throughout the country. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iran_newspaper_cockroach_cartoon_controversy

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

motherhood statement: (chiefly Canada, US) A vague, feel-good platitude, especially one made by a politician, that few people would disagree with. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/motherhood_statement

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

For a while, I thought of myself as an atheist until I realized it was a belief, too. It's a shame everything has to have a label. I feel that if I was figuratively dropped on the Earth and there was a political line, I would be just left of center. The difference for me is that conservatives are more interested in property values and rights and free markets, and liberals are more interested in human rights. In the end, there are people who don't fit into the marketplace and are not equipped. I believe the government should step in where the free market fails.   --George Carlin https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/George_Carlin