person's name plus profession - use of commas, articles

[Susanast]

Hello,

this question probably requires a native speaker. I have long been uncertain about how you most appropriately combine a person´s name with other descriptive information (typically profession and nationality) - I know there are more correct ways than one, but I am not sure about what´s acceptable.

An example:

The Prague State Opera is putting on a belated Czech premiere of Les Mamelles de Tirésias, a 20th century parodical opera by the French composer Francis Poulenc.

by a French composer, Francis Poulenc.

.....by Francis Poulenc, a French composer (well. the inverted phrase order with composer added after a comma is rather clumsy here, since operas tend to be written by composers :-)

...by French composer Francis Poulenc (is it possible to omit the article in cases like these and is there a difference compared to the version with the definite article? Does definite article presuppose the reader´s familiarity with Poulenc as opposed to no article?)

Thanks very much to any of the native speakers that can clarify this for me - what´s correct and what´s the best usage.

By the way - should it be "a belated premiere", or "the belated premiere" or either is acceptable? Premiere is just one, so it´s a unique reference, but somehow I feel more comfortable with the indefinite article here.

Zuzana

[Mister Micawber]

.
The 'rule', as I recall, is that there really should be commas (by a/the/X French composer, Francis Poulenc), but that short common ones can omit it (my brother Bill).

A/the is the usual difference between articles, but it can be omitted and no harm done.
.
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Native English teacher at Mister Micawber's