Lully, Jean-Baptiste

(1632-1687)

   composer

   Born in Florence, Italy, Giovanni Battista Lulli, or Jean-Baptiste Lully, as he is known, came to France at age 14 and, in 1652, entered the service of King louis XIV as a violinist and dancer. He later conducted one of the royal orchestras ("bande des petits violons") and, in 1662, became music master to the royal family. Ambitious and a shrewd courtier and businessman, he retained throughout his life the king's favor and dominated French music of the period. He composed ballets, including Ballet de l'amour malade (1657) and Alcidiane (1658) for the court, often dancing alongside the king in many of them. Lully collaborated with molière on a series of comedy ballets. In 1672, he intrigued to obtain for himself the directorship of the Académie Royale de Musique, a position that gave him the monopoly over opera productions in France. He modeled his operas, known as "tragédies-lyriques," on the classical tragedy of his contemporaries pierre corneille and jean racine. They are stately, solemn compositions that emphasize clarity of text and the inflections of the French language. Their elaborate dance spectacles and grand choruses are based on the "ballets de cour," the courtly dance pageants staged at Versailles. They stand in contrast to the Italian opera of the period, which emphasized virtuoso solo pieces. Lully's court operas include Cadmus et Hermione (1673), Alceste (1674), Thésée (1675), Atys (1676), Psyché et Ballérophon (1678-79), Phaéton (1683), Roland (1685), and Armide (1686). Amassing a huge fortune, Lully ended his career by becoming adviser and secretary to the king.