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Moli\u00e8re and Jean de la Fontaine: Two famous victims of the intrigues devised by\u00a0le Parrain <\/em>(the Godfather) of French Opera. As such, they join a long list of <\/strong>hommes de lettres<\/strong><\/em>who were -it’s tempting to say- “lulled by Lully”<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n * * *<\/strong><\/p>\n If le\u00a0cardinal<\/em> Mazarin<\/strong> were to be regarded as the “Overall Godfather<\/strong>“, the capo de tutti capi<\/strong><\/em>, of the “Italian Connection<\/strong>” that has for long dominated the court of “le Roi-Soleil”<\/strong><\/em>(“The Sun King”, Louis XIV<\/em><\/strong>),\u00a0then when it comes to the specific area of French Opera, Jean-Baptiste Lully<\/strong>, by all means an underling of Mazarin<\/strong>‘s,\u00a0would no doubt play the role of a “Music Godfather<\/strong>“—Or, to borrow yet another Sicilian Mafia term, something like a “capodecina<\/strong><\/em>“<\/span>of French Opera…<\/strong><\/p>\n It is therefore not a shocking surprise that, throughout his carri\u00e8re musicale<\/strong><\/em>,\u00a0Lully was able to earn himself a host of influential enemies within the French kingdom. Some of them even counted names of the “highest caliber” of French literature…<\/p>\n Jean de la Fontaine<\/strong><\/a>,\u00a0whose fable “le corbeau et le renard<\/em><\/strong><\/a>” (“The Crow and the Fox”)\u00a0was the subject of a previous post featured here on the\u00a0French Blog<\/strong><\/a>, was actually\u00a0un <\/em><\/strong>ennemi <\/strong>jur\u00e9<\/strong><\/em> (a sworn enemy) of\u00a0Lully<\/strong>‘s. He devoted a rather scathing satirical work\u00a0“en son honneur<\/em>“<\/strong>(“in his honor”), which he named “le Florentin<\/em><\/strong><\/a>“!<\/strong><\/p>\n Yet another “Jean-Baptiste” deeply involved in the early developments of French Opera: Jean-Baptiste Poquelin,\u00a0better known as “Moli\u00e8re<\/a>“, author of “le Bourgeois gentilhomme<\/em>” (“The Middle Class Gentleman”), and for long a collaborateur<\/em> of Lully, had also experienced a\u00a0falling out with “le Florentin.<\/em>“<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n * * *<\/strong><\/p>\n