Reyer and Saint Saens both show traces of the influence of Wagner, but though guiding themes are often employed with excellent effect in their works, the general outlines of their operas remain very much in accordance with the form handed down by Meyerbeer.  Massenet, on the other hand, has drunk more deeply at the Bayreuth fountain.  His early comic operas, ‘La Grand’ Tante’ (1867) and ‘Don Cesar de Bazan’ (1872) are purely French in inspiration, and even ‘Le Roi de Lahore’ (1877), his first great success, does not show any very important traces of German influence.  Its success was largely due to the brilliant spectacle of the Indian Paradise in the third act.  The score is rich in sensuous melody of the type which we associate principally with the name of Gounod, and the subtle beauties of the orchestration bear witness to the hand of a master.

In ‘Herodiade’ (1881) the influence of Wagner becomes more noticeable, though it hardly amounts to more than an occasional trifling with guiding themes.  The libretto is a version of the Biblical story of St. John the Baptist, considerably doctored to suit Parisian taste.  When ‘Herodiade’ was performed in London in 1904, under the title of ‘Salome,’ the names of some of the characters were altered and the scene of the story was transferred to Ethiopia, in order to satisfy the conscientious scruples of the Lord Chamberlain.  Thus according to the newest version of Massenet’s opera ‘Jean’ is a mysterious prophet—­presumably a species of Mahdi—­who makes his appearance at the court of Moriame, King of Ethiopia.  He denounces the sins of Queen Hesatoade in no measured terms, but the latter cannot induce her husband to avenge her wrongs, since Moriame dare not venture for political reasons to proceed to extreme measures against so popular a character as Jean.  Jean has an ardent disciple in Salome, a young lady whose position in Ethiopian society is not very clearly defined by the librettist, though in the end she turns out to be Hesatoade’s long-lost daughter.  Jean’s regard for Salome is purely Platonic, but Moriame loves her passionately, and when he finds out that Jean is his rival he promptly orders him to prison where he is put to death after a passionate scene with Salome, who kills herself in despair.  Massenet has taken full advantage of the passionate and voluptuous scenes of the libretto, which lend themselves well to his peculiar style.  In certain scenes his treatment of guiding themes reaches an almost symphonic level, and the opera is throughout a singularly favourable specimen of his earlier manner.  He has recently revised the score, and added a scene between the Queen and a Chaldean soothsayer, which is one of the most powerful in the opera.

‘Manon,’ which was first performed in 1884, shows perhaps no advance in the matter of form upon ‘Herodiade,’ but the subject of the opera is so admirably suited to Massenet’s tender and delicate talent that it remains one of his most completely successful works.  The Abbe Prevost’s famous romance had already been treated operatically by Auber, but his ‘Manon Lescaut’ was never really a success, and had been laid upon the shelf many years before Massenet took the story in hand.