Question: A Novel written by who is an opera based on in four acts by Jules Massenet to a French libretto by Édouard Blau, Paul Milliet and Georges Hartmann, that is a mainstay of the repertory during its history have included the following works which have each been performed more than 1,000 times by the company?
Context: Hérodiade is an opera in four acts by Jules Massenet to a French libretto by Paul Milliet and Henri Grémont, based on the novella "Hérodias" (1877) by Gustave Flaubert.  It was first performed at the Théâtre de la Monnaie in Brussels on 19 December 1881. La grand'tante (The great-aunt) is an opéra comique in one act by Jules Massenet to a French libretto by Jules Adenis and Charles Grandvallet.  It was first performed at the Opéra-Comique in Paris on 3 April 1867.  Though not the first opera composed by Massenet, it was the first of his stage works to be mounted on the stage.  The work consists of an overture followed by six vocal numbers (solos, duets and a final trio) with spoken dialogue in between. Sapho is a "pièce lyrique" ("lyric play", an opera in a declamatory style) in five acts.  The music was composed by Jules Massenet to a French libretto by Henri Cain and Arthur Bernède, based on the novel of the same name by Alphonse Daudet.  It was first performed on 27 November 1897 by the Opéra Comique at the Théâtre Lyrique on the Place du Châtelet in Paris with Emma Calvé as Fanny Legrand.  A charming and effective piece, the success of which is highly dependent on the charisma of its lead soprano, it has never earned a place in the standard operatic repertory. Esclarmonde (] ) is an opéra (French: "opéra romanesque" ) in four acts and eight tableaux, with prologue and epilogue, by Jules Massenet, to a French libretto by Alfred Blau and Louis Ferdinand de Gramont.  It was first performed on 15 May 1889 by the Opéra-Comique at the Théâtre Lyrique on the Place du Châtelet in Paris. Thaïs (] ) is an opera, a "comédie lyrique" in three acts and seven tableaux, by Jules Massenet to a French libretto by Louis Gallet, based on the novel "Thaïs" by Anatole France.  It was first performed at the Opéra Garnier in Paris on 16 March 1894, starring the American soprano Sibyl Sanderson, for whom Massenet had written the title role.  The original production was directed by Alexandre Lapissida, with costumes designed by Charles Bianchini and sets by Marcel Jambon (act 1, scene 1; act 3) and Eugène Carpezat (act 1, scene 2; act 2).  The opera was later revised by the composer and was premiered at the same opera house on 13 April 1898. Bacchus is an opera in four acts by Jules Massenet to a French libretto by Catulle Mendès after Greek mythology.  It was first performed at the Palais Garnier in Paris on 5 May 1909. The Opéra-Comique is a Parisian opera company, which was founded around 1714 by some of the popular theatres of the Parisian fairs.  In 1762 the company was merged with, and for a time took the name of its chief rival the Comédie-Italienne at the Hôtel de Bourgogne, and was also called the Théâtre-Italien up to about 1793, when it again became most commonly known as the Opéra-Comique.  Today the company's official name is Théâtre national de l'Opéra-Comique, and its theatre, with a capacity of around 1,248 seats, sometimes referred to as the Salle Favart (the third on this site), is located in Place Boïeldieu, in the 2nd arrondissement of Paris, not far from the Palais Garnier, one of the theatres of the Paris Opéra.  The musicians and others associated with the Opéra-Comique have made important contributions to operatic history and tradition in France, and to French opera.  Its current mission is to reconnect with its history, and discover its unique repertoire, to ensure production and dissemination of operas for the wider public.  Mainstays of the repertory at the Opéra-Comique during its history have included the following works which have each been performed more than 1,000 times by the company: "Cavalleria Rusticana", "Le chalet", "La dame blanche", "Le domino noir", "La fille du régiment", "Lakmé", "Manon", "Mignon", "Les noces de Jeannette", "Le pré aux clercs", "Tosca", "La bohème", "Werther" and "Carmen", the last having been performed more than 2,500 times. Panurge is an opera (titled 'Haulte farce musicale') in three acts by Jules Massenet to a French libretto by Georges Spitzmuller and Maurice Boukay, after "Pantagruel" by Rabelais.  It was first performed at the Théâtre de la Gaîté in Paris on 25 April 1913, nearly a year after Massenet's death, one of three operas by the composer to have premiered posthumously, the others being "Cléopâtre" (1914) and "Amadis" (1922). Don César de Bazan is an opéra comique in four acts by Jules Massenet to a French libretto by Adolphe d'Ennery, Philippe-François Pinel "Dumanoir" and Jules Chantepie, based on the drama "Ruy Blas" by Victor Hugo.  It was first performed at the Opéra-Comique in Paris on 30 November 1872. Werther is an opera ("drame lyrique") in four acts by Jules Massenet to a French libretto by Édouard Blau, Paul Milliet and Georges Hartmann (who used the pseudonym Henri Grémont).  It is loosely based on the German epistolary novel "The Sorrows of Young Werther" by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, which was based both on fact and on Goethe's own early life.  Earlier examples of operas using the story were made by Kreutzer (1792) and Pucitta (1802).
Answer: Johann Wolfgang von Goethe