 Rameau was almost 50 when he wrote "Hippolyte et Aricie" and there was little in his life to suggest he was about to embark on a major new career as an opera composer.He was famous for his works on music theory as well as books of harpsichord pieces.The closest he had come to writing dramatic music was composing a few secular cantatas and some popular pieces for the Paris fairs for his friend Alexis Piron.