Ignaz Vitzthumb

Arriving in Brussels in 1735 at the age of 11, he entered the service of archduchess Maria Elisabeth of Austria as a child-singer in her choir.

Taught by Jean-Joseph Fiocco, then choirmaster of the Brussels chapel royal, Vitzthumb became a court drummer at sixteen, a post he held for more than 40 years alongside other roles.

After the War of the Austrian Succession, in which he had served in a regiment of Hungarian hussars, he returned to Brussels and took part in several chambers of rhetoric and compagnies bourgeoises, of which there were Francophone as well as Flemish versions.

From 1761, he entered the Théâtre de la Monnaie as its composer and music master, and taught singing to young actors such as Angélique D'Hannetaire and Alexandre Bultos.

This period is considered to be one of the most fertile in the Théâtre de la Monnaie's life, and travellers like Charles Burney did not hesitate to praise the quality of the members of its acting troop and orchestra.