Jean-Baptiste Lully (1632–1687)

Born in Florence in 1632 as Giovanni Battista Lulli, Jean-Baptiste Lully became the Sun King's foremost court composer, an eminent position which in turn gave him decisive influence over the development of French music in the 17th and early 18th centuries. Lully's leading role in Versailles began in 1661. His oeuvre initially concentrated on the ballet before embarking on a specifically French form of opera in the 1670s. Lully gained fame as the composer of several tragedies lyriques, a genre of which he is regarded the founder. In 1671, the letters patent granted Lully for the Académie royale de musique gave him an unprecedented lifelong monopoly in French musical life. He died in 1711 of an injury suffered while conducting.

Henri Bonnart (ca. 1642–1711), portrait of Jean-Baptiste Lully (1632–1687), print; image source: http://gallica.bnf.fr, Permalink: http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b8431721s.