Jules (Émile Frédéric) Massenet (1842 – 1912) was a French composer. He is best known for his operas, which were very popular in the late 19th and early 20th century; they afterwards fell into oblivion for the most part, but have undergone periodic revivals since the 1980s. Certainly Manon and Werther have held the scene uninterruptedly for well over a century. He wrote the famous "Meditation" for his opera Thais. It has gone down as one of the great violin classics of all time.

Additional info here.