WFCC

Classical Fact

Jean-Joseph Mouret's greatest success came more than two centuries after his death. Early on Mouret gained notoriety by composing nine operas and incidental music for over 450 plays. Mouret's fortunes soared as he found himself in prominent musical positions throughout France in the early 1700s. Then, in a stunning and tragic turn, financial failures struck each of the groups Mouret was in charge of and within four years, he lost all sources of income. He quickly went broke and slowly, he went mad. Just after his 50th birthday, he was placed in an asylum where he died eight months later. Over two hundred years later, PBS chose the Rondeau that opens his Suite of Symphonies as the theme to the popular series, Masterpiece Theater.