Two French writers called Henri Meilhac and Ludovic HalÃ vy wrote a large number of opera and operetta libretti for the composers Jacques Offenbach , Jules Massenet and Georges Bizet . The French writers ' duo Henri Meilhac and Ludovic HalÃ vy wrote a large number of opera and operetta libretti for the likes of Jacques Offenbach , Jules Massenet and Georges Bizet .