Certain pundits encouraged Massenet to set the Old Testament's Song of Solomonto music, hoping that he would be ridiculed for choosing one of the most beautiful texts ever written—of course, he did not take the bait.

Instead of indulging in tasteless quibbling, they should have paid attention to his successful artistic development, which began in 1890 and clearly continued after the Viennese and Parisien premieres of Werther.He considerably transformed his compositional style as he reached artistic maturity. Little by little, he abandoned traditional operatic arias in favor of through-composed scores.

His fiftieth year, far from slowing him down, brought him greater diversity and audacity, especially compared to his contemporaries, and his obvious success resulted in a substantial number of enemies. On the other hand, both his students and his successors thanked him.

The year 1892 was challenging. In January, he mourned his older brother Auguste, whom he had visited in Bordeaux just prior to his death. In February, the production of Wertherin Vienna caused him endless stress. By March, he was in Paris, saddled with the composition of Thaïs,and anxiety gnawed at him. Then, the revival of Manonwas postponed because Delmas was ill, and he fretted over Porto-Riche's play, also inspired by the Manon of Abbé Prévost's novel.