to London and on tour, and composed music for her productions. L'île du rêve was premiered in 1898, when thanks to Massenet's influence the Opéra-Comique staged the piece, with a fine cast, conducted by André Messager. The press notices were hostile, and the piece was withdrawn after seven performances. While it was in rehearsal Paris was agog at the Zola trial in the continuing Dreyfus affair. The affair sharply divided French opinion; Hahn, like Proust and Bernhardt, was in the Dreyfusard camp. The anti-Semitic overtones of the anti-Dreyfusard campaign disturbed him deeply, but his devotion to France was unshaken. In 1898, following the success of his first set of 20 mélodies, published two years earlier, Hahn began composing a second set. which he worked on for more than 20 years. In the same year he started work on 12 "Rondels" for soloists, chorus and piano, completed the following year. In 1899, following the long tradition of French composers supplementing their income by writing music reviews, he became critic for La Presse. In December 1902 Hahn's second opera, La Carmélite, described as "a musical comedy", with a libretto by Catulle Mendès, was premiered at the Opéra-Comique. Emma Calvé played the main role of Louise de La Vallière, Messager was once again the conductor, and the piece was lavishly mounted, but it was received politely rather than with enthusiasm, and did not gain a place in the operatic repertoire. Its prospects were not helped by the Opéra-Comique's decision to yield to religious lobbyists and cut the climactic scene in which Louise takes the veil; that scene won critical praise as "inspired", whereas the rest of the score was thought to be skilful, pretty and spirited but lacking in character. Following this disappointment, Hahn turned his attention away from opera. In 1905 he composed one of his most popular works, the suite for chamber ensemble Le Bal de Béatrice d'Este; in Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians, Patrick O'Connor observes that this work, "conceived merely as a divertissement", has remained one of the composer's best-known and most frequently performed. Hahn began to attract notice as a conductor. Performances of Don Giovanni under his baton in 1903 were praised for his "flexible and light touch" and for his scholarly – and at the time unusual – fidelity to Mozart's score. In 1906 he and Gustav Mahler were the conductors for the two operas given