Biography
Jean-Baptiste Lully was born Giovanni Battista Lulli in Florence on 28 November 1632 and came to France as a teenager, where he made his name as a dancer and violinist at court. In 1653 the young Louis XIV appointed him composer of instrumental music, and in 1661 superintendent of the royal music; that same year Lully became a French citizen. From 1672 he directed the newly founded Académie royale de musique under a royal privilege that gave him near-total control over opera in France. Together with the librettist Philippe Quinault he developed the tragédie en musique, a distinct French operatic genre combining recitative, chorus and ballet. While conducting his Te Deum in January 1687, he struck his own foot with his baton; the resulting infection led to his death in Paris on 22 March 1687.
On Stagelog
Loading stats...