French composer and violinist of Italian descent (1632-1687), hailed as the inventor of French opera and representative of French music at the court of Louis XIV. He arrived in France in 1646 and entered the service of Mademoiselle de Montpensier as her Italian tutor. He could dance, play the guitar and violin and was proficient at composition and keyboard instruments. He became a friend of Michel Lambert and Lazzarini, composer of instrumental music, whose post he took over in 1653. He thus began to provide music for the ballets performed at court. In 1661 he was appointed Superintendent of music and official composer for the Musique de la Chambre, sharing the post with Jean-Baptiste Boësset. The following year he obtained the role of master of music for the royal family. His collaboration with Molière led to Le Bourgeois gentilhomme. In 1672, he bought the rights to the Académie Royale de Musique, giving him control over all opera productions in France. Lully composed a lot of music for ballet and stage, and this new institution gave him the chance to create a theatrical genre, the tragédie-lyrique. 1673 saw the advent of Cadmus et Hermione followed by Alceste, with another opera each year until 1686 (except for 1681). His most famous works are his comédies-ballets (e.g. Le Bourgeois gentilhomme and Les Amants magnifiques), his tragédies lyriques (e.g. Atys, Persée and Armide) and grands motets such as his Miserere, Te Deum and De Profundis.
