" The opera is in French, and hints of Massenet are splashed around, including the Christmas carol from "Werther.

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With the assistance of the composer Bryan Senti, Wainwright has devised an effective orchestral palette, leaning on Massenet, Debussy, and Puccini.

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More through default than design, the renditions of Mozart, Massenet, and Berlioz must do the expressive work usually accomplished by imagery, narrative, and characterization.

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Expect Natalie Massenet, who has already turned a kitchen table business into the global luxury e-tailer Net-a-porter, to pull her new role off with equal aplomb.

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And having received mixed reviews in Massenet's "Manon" at the Met last season, she will try "Manon Lescaut, " Puccini's take on the character, rumored for Munich in 2014.

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Massenet, founder of net-a-porter and the woman who changed the way we shop for luxury, is now busy revving things up as the Chairman of the British Fashion Council.

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The youngest contestant at 21, soprano Rebecca Pedersen, from Bountiful, Utah, used arias from Massenet's "Le Cid" and Leoncavallo's "I Pagliacci" to highlight a polished technique and potent sound that suggested she might grow beyond lyric roles.

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