Egidio Duni

Italian composer Egidio Duni was a prolific composer of opera in the middle of the 18th century, also writing operas in French and working in Paris later in his career. Duni was a student of the composer Francesco Durante. In 1735, his opera Nerone was presented and found success during Rome's Carnival season. Backed by Durante, he quickly wrote another opera, Adriano in Siria, to a text by the leading opera librettist of the day, Pietro Metastasio. Dénis Diderot cited Duni's music as a counterexample to Jean-Jacques Rousseau's contention that the French language was unsuited to opera. Duni died in Paris on June 11, 1775, leaving behind more than 35 operas, some sacred music, and a few other works. A 2023 album by Orkester Nord featured Duni's operas La peintre amoureux de son modèle and Les deux chasseurs et la latière.