Grétry, André Ernest Modeste

Grétry, André Ernest Modeste (äNdrā' ernest' môdest' grātrē') [key], 1741–1813, French operatic composer. Enormously prolific and successful in his lifetime, he was a master of the 18th-century opéra comique. His works combined the melodic grace of Italian opera with the imagination, delicacy, and dramatic interest of the French. His masterpiece is Richard Cœur de Lion (1784).

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2007, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

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