Massenet and his wife began to correspond daily in 1876. Because income was flowing into the family coffers, Ninon decided to take more frequent trips with her young daughter. Massenet's own journeys were associated with performances of Le Roi de Lahore. Although Ninon's letters have been lost, we are able to understand Massenet's relationship with his family through his letters, whether addressed to Ninon or to the “clever monkey,” as Massenet affectionately called his daughter Juliette.

At that time, Massenet identified each letter with a number instead of a date. We read how he missed his small family. Solitude made him uneasy (an understatement), and when he did not receive a daily letter, he protested.

He signed his letters with imaginative nicknames—“Brame” or “Miton”—depending upon his mood. Sometimes, he drew little pictures at the end of his letters, or attempted caricatures, even though he was unskilled with the pencil!

During the Paris rehearsals of Le Roi de Lahore,he complained bitterly.

Massenet always found it difficult to be away from his wife for very long.

In 1877, after the first productions of Le Roi de Lahore,Ricordi was inspired by Gustave Flaubert's Les Trois Contesand suggested Hérodiadeas the composer's next subject.Georges Hartmann, using the pseudonym Henri Grémont, once again collaborated with two other librettists, Angelo Zanardini and Paul Milliet.

Massenet's close relationship with Ricordi was stimulating. Here is a letter showing how they cared about food as well as music.