François-Hippolyte Barthélémon

This led to a commission for his first dramatic stage work, Pelopida, an opera in three acts in the Italian style that was performed at the King's Theatre in 1766.

In the same year, Barthélemon also premiered Oithona, a three-act dramatic operatic poem; La fleuve Scamandre ("The Scamander River"), a French-style comic opera based on a Greek myth; and The Judgment of Paris, another two-act burletta.

Further engagements led him to decide to stay in England, where he wed soprano and composer Polly Young in December 1766 and raised a family.

The Maid of Oaks, a masque within a comedy in five acts based on Sylvain by Jean-François Marmontel, enjoyed much success in 1774.

[3] As a private teacher, Bartélemon received approval for his "scientific" technique of violin playing; however, some popular critics felt his musical compositions lacked "a clearly developed personal style."