Jean-Baptiste Lully
Of Italian origin, Lully was the great organiser of music at the court of King
Louis XIV, and gave French opera its first masterpieces, including Armide. The
son of a miller, Giovanni Battista Lulli was born in Florence on November 28,
1632, and learned the rudiments of music on the guitar and in song from a
Franciscan monk. Noticed by Roger de Lorraine, chevalier de Guise, around 1645,
he arrived in France the following year to enter the service of his niece, the
Duchess de Montpensier, known as the "Grande Mademoiselle", cousin of King Louis
XIV. Hired to give Italian lessons, ...
