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André-Ernest-Modeste Grétry, (1741- 1813) is a French composer of operas, he was born in Liège. He was a leader in the evolution of French opéra comique from light popular plays with music into semiserious musical drama. Grétry studied singing, violin, and harmony and in 1761 was sent to Rome to study composition. In 1766 he went to Geneva as a music teacher. There he met Voltaire, at whose suggestion he went to Paris in 1767. His masterpiece, Richard Coeur de Lion (1784; “Richard the Lionheart”), is an early example of French Romantic opera. Grétry’s music is noted for its finesse and melodic grace. He excelled in the development of dramatic scenes through melody and careful setting of words. He was widely honoured during his lifetime and received a pension from Napoleon in 1802. In 1789 he published his Mémoires; ou, essais sur la musique.
