Lully, Jean-Baptiste, loo LEE, zhahn bah TEEST (1632-1687), an Italian-born composer, wrote the first significant French operas. Lully was born in Florence and was brought to France in 1646. He became a clever courtier and rose to a position of influence in the court of King Louis XIV. Lully formed a highly disciplined band of string players, Les Petits Violons, whose playing became a model of French musical style. By 1662, he stood unopposed as the king's favorite musician. Eventually, he had a virtual dictatorship over the production, staging, and musical direction of the court opera. His best-known operas include Cadmus and Hermione (1673), Bellerophon (1679), Amadis (1684), Roland (1685), and Armide (1686).