Salieri : Tarare

Antonio Salieri (1750-1825) Tarare Tragédie lyrique in a prologue and five acts to a libretto by Beaumarchais, premiered at the Académie royale de musique in Paris in 1787. The resurrection of Beaumarchais's only opera de Bea

Antonio Salieri (1750-1825)

Tarare

Tragédie lyrique in a prologue and five acts to a libretto by Beaumarchais, premiered at the Académie royale de musique in Paris in 1787.

The resurrection of Beaumarchais's only opera! In 1787, France's most famous playwright teamed up with the star musician of the decade: Antonio Salieri, who had become a favourite of both the public and the Queen. The work is a moral tale: the cruel King of Ormuz sends his chief general Tarare to fight on the borders, to get rid of him, so that he can place his betrothed in his seraglio. But the courageous general returns victorious at the head of his galvanised troops, who do him justice by executing the sultan and placing Tarare on the throne. "One owes nothing to one's birth, but everything to one's qualities" thus becomes a true banner for the ideas of the Enlightenment. The work even appears as a premonition of the French Revolution which led to the execution of Louis XVI and, in a way, heralds the destiny of Napoleon Bonaparte, who became Emperor. It enjoyed extraordinary success, so exceptional is the writing strength of this heroic and comic 'turquerie', but it has not been performed in Paris since 1820. Here at last is this major work returned to the public under the direction of Théotime Langlois de Swarte and in Jean-Romain Vesperini's staging: a truly significant French operatic event!