 Lully, a Florentine, was already the favourite musician of the king, who had assumed full royal powers in 1661 and was intent on refashioning French culture in his image.Lully had a sure instinct for knowing exactly what would satisfy the taste of his master and the French public in general.He had already composed music for extravagant court entertainments as well as for the theatre, most notably the "comédies-ballets" inserted into plays by Molière.