Tarare

“I am dazzled by the figure of Salieri. We had already performed some Salieri in Italian; Les Danaïdes as well as Les Horaces totally astonished me with their compositional mechanisms. Unlike Mozart, Salieri is not a figure of expressiveness aimed at the heart. His expressiveness is much more in the vein of Gluck, through a gesture that is very deliberate, but he doesn’t seek seduction or charm, the kind that can emanate from a Mozartian melody… That charm is in vain when sought in Salieri. On the other hand, the inventiveness in structure and orchestration is certainly something that inspired Mozart and his contemporaries, and both Les Danaïdes and Les Horaces contain elements that pave the way for French opera as it would evolve in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. There’s a powerful gesture, a constant desire to break things open in order to find a broader unity — it’s very adventurous. The paths Gluck opened with French opera are magnificently expanded upon. We are dealing with a genius — I’m not saying anything less. He is truly a great composer, and I’m very excited at the idea of approaching Tarare, which is an exceptional work, with its libretto by Beaumarchais, mixing political arguments with comic — even cosmic at times — stories; there are some very strange things… I’m very curious to see how I’ll manage with a score that is so complex and rich. It’s a real challenge that excites me greatly.

Salieri and Beaumarchais are rather strange people, not particularly charming.
We know Beaumarchais, and we feel some fondness for him, but he was a rigid character. He held Salieri in high esteem and had been dazzled by Les Danaïdes. He thought the reception of Les Horaces was unfair because he found the music absolutely wonderful. Beaumarchais was convinced that this was the composer who should write the opera of his dreams. He was a ‘Salierist.’ Tarare is an experimental opera for Beaumarchais. In the preface to Tarare, there are a number of theoretical instructions on how to declaim the text, which was quite new. People had always tried to find naturalness, but he wanted to go even further in that direction — to eliminate the vocal aspect in favor of the purest possible declamation, in the spirit of Lully, who used real tragedians and initially avoided singers. He leaned more toward the Hôtel de Bourgogne — that is, toward Racine’s actors rather than accomplished singers for his tragédies lyriques. There is a clear will to return to prima le parole e poi la musica.”

Prologue
Nature and the Spirit of Fire calm the elements in order to give life to the drama’s characters, formed from “atoms lost in space.” The chorus of shadows proclaims its yearning for human existence. This new creation serves as a pretext to present the political and social ideas that will be developed throughout the opera.

Act I – At Ormuz’ royal palace.
The despot Atar shows contempt for his subjects and rules over them with tyrannical power. Tarare, a noble and generous soldier, once saved the king’s life and was appointed commander of his militia in gratitude. Tarare’s life remains unchanged: he continues to serve others with humility and enthusiasm. Despite a law permitting polygamy, he lives happily with his one wife, Astasie, who is beautiful and virtuous. Atar confides to Calpigi — an Italian slave and guardian of his harem — his hatred of Tarare, driven by jealousy of his happiness and popularity. Atar has ordered Altamort to kidnap Astasie and bring her to the harem, where she will be introduced under the name “Irza.”
During a lavish celebration, Irza — a miracle of beauty — is presented to Atar. Upon realizing her dreadful fate, she faints and is taken to her quarters by Spinette, a flirtatious and cunning Neapolitan singer at court. The king rejoices at the thought of his militia leader’s suffering. Unaware of who is behind the abduction, Tarare passionately describes his wife to Atar and begs him to raise an army to punish her kidnapper. Atar grants him permission, while secretly instructing Altamort to follow Tarare and kill him.

Acte II – The christians are at the kingdom’s gates.
Atar and the high priest Arthenée divide their respective spheres of influence. Calpigi tells Tarare what has become of Astasie and promises to help her escape. With Arthenée’s complicity, Atar plans to place the army under Altamort’s command. However, when the young oracle Elamir is consulted, he names Tarare instead, despite Arthenée’s attempts to intervene. The people rejoice. Insulted and humiliated, Altamort challenges Tarare to a duel.

Act III – The harem’s gardens.
Atar demands that the celebration in honor of Irza take place immediately. His plans are interrupted by Urson’s account of Tarare’s victory over Altamort. Nevertheless, Atar insists on the entertainment: a European-style festivity in which he crowns Irza.
During Calpigi’s barcarolle, Tarare sneaks into the harem. Calpigi disguises him as a mute Black slave. Rejected once more by Astasie, Atar grows furious again. In revenge, he decides to have the slave beheaded and present the head to Astasie, making her believe it is Tarare’s. Calpigi is devastated. At the last moment, the king changes his mind and instead orders the slave to be brought to Astasie’s chambers to humiliate her by making her a laughingstock of the harem.

Acte IV
Still in disguise, Tarare is brought into Astasie’s room. To protect her mistress from disgrace, Spinette takes her place. Caught off guard, Tarare cries out and reveals his identity. Atar, having changed his mind once again, sends Urson and his soldiers to kill the slave. Desperate to save Tarare, Calpigi finally reveals who he really is.

Act V
Atar is delighted at the prospect of killing Tarare “with the flexible blade of the law.” Despite Arthenée’s warnings, he continues to behave like an absolute despot, blind to the fact that he is sealing his own downfall.
The prisoners are handed over to the high priest. Tarare and Astasie are finally reunited. Calpigi enters the palace at the head of many soldiers. All acclaim Tarare and want him to be their king. Atar dies of rage. Urson compels Tarare to reign “through justice and the law.”

This tragicomic libretto, full of dramatic fire and new ideas, tackles absolutism with great ingenuity: “The abuse of supreme power always ends up shaking it.” It serves as an opportunity to explore the respective roles of royal (Atar) and religious (Arthenée) power, and to highlight their collusion in situations where neither the king nor the Church necessarily plays a noble role. Even the queen’s role is sketched out: “And you, queen, sensitive spouse, […] often soften authority with inflexible duty.”
As for the happy ending, it is far from gratuitous. Tarare is elevated to royal dignity by the will of the people; his power emanates directly from the people themselves.

Salieri set to music a subject that few composers in Paris would have dared to bring to the stage. Critics described the work as a “dramatic and lyrical monster.” The composer leaves behind the sweetness of bel canto in favor of harsher, more mature accents inspired by Gluck’s aesthetics. He vigorously carves out types and characters — Tarare, for example, brave and strong, symbolizes wisdom and honesty. Spinette’s Italian character often recalls the vocal style of Mozart’s Abduction from the Seraglio.
One can even glimpse Beethoven — who studied Italian declamation with Salieri — in Tarare’s aria “Almighty God” (Act III, Scene 7).
Several passages display this art of sung declamation. The orchestration is refined, often elegant, and always attuned to the situation and the characters.

Tarare, which premiered in Paris on June 8, 1787, with a libretto written by Beaumarchais himself, is perhaps the most forgotten among the operas of the universal repertoire. Indeed, when choosing a collaborator, Beaumarchais made a fatal error: instead of bringing Mozart from Vienna, he brought Salieri. He installed him nearby, on Rue Vieille-du-Temple, entrusted him with composing the music for Tarare, and worked closely with him, becoming his friend… and ultimately condemning Tarare to oblivion.
Among Beaumarchais’s many talents, his musical ability was not the least. He had even served as music teacher to the daughters of King Louis XV. His love of music is evident in his comedies, where couples sing to the strumming of guitars — scenes perfectly suited to lyrical adaptation.

A Political Libretto

The premiere of Tarare created a tremendous stir. It boldly expanded upon the political, even subversive and revolutionary, themes that had made The Marriage of Figaro so famous just a year earlier. Beaumarchais’s political intentions were already clear in that work and became even more pronounced in the politically charged atmosphere of 1787–1789. On several occasions, performances of Tarare turned into political demonstrations.

Beaumarchais completed Tarare in 1784, shortly after The Mad Day (La Folle Journée) had been staged. With Tarare, he aimed to transpose onto the operatic stage the political allusions that had worked so well in comedy. Grimm perceived this clearly and wrote in his correspondence:

“Having said his piece to ministers and great lords in The Marriage of Figaro, he still needed to say it to priests and kings. Only Monsieur de Beaumarchais dared to do this — and perhaps he was the only one permitted to.”

The first drafts of Tarare date back to 1775, and some of the surviving notes are mixed with those of The Barber of Seville. Both were initially conceived as comic operas. The name “Tarare” was borrowed from Hamilton’s tale Fleur d’épine.
After placing Figaro in two highly successful plays, Beaumarchais revived his idea for a musical work, retaining only the title’s lightheartedness. Tarare thus softens the gravity of the piece and offers a wink to the audience — a way of signaling that not everything was to be taken at face value. By that point, Beaumarchais felt that a more serious and solemn tone suited his evolving concerns better. Having attained fame in theatre, finance, and politics, he believed it was time to shift toward a grander style — which also aligned with the public’s tastes. The fashion had turned from comedy to solemnity, with a collective obsession emerging around the Roman Republic and its customs and governance.

Tarare is set in a fictionalized Eastern setting, in Ormuz. Though its twists and turns involve “harem customs,” they are reminiscent of The Mad Day, except that instead of jokes, the characters deliver bold speeches “against tyranny.” In 1787, such declamations alone were enough to draw attention — even more so when their author was Beaumarchais, whose clashes with royal authority had been making headlines for nearly fifteen years.
Some words — especially “abuse” — had become fashionable thanks to Beaumarchais and were used repeatedly in the opera.

But Beaumarchais went even further. In addition to lavish sets, rich costumes, and large casts, he filled Tarare with pointed political references. Audiences recognized in the character of Tarare a clear allusion to the Marquis de Lafayette, newly returned from America covered in glory, whose popularity rivaled Beaumarchais’s own renown.

Tarare and Revolutionary Revisions

A revised version of Tarare was planned for revival during the Festival of the Federation on July 14, 1790, an event that had drawn delegates from all departments to Paris. Various setbacks prevented this version from being staged as scheduled, and the new version was not performed at the Opéra until August 3, 1790. Audiences flocked to see this production, titled The Coronation of Tarare, to which Beaumarchais had added a new act promoting both divorce and the emancipation of enslaved people. The result was an uproar, with aristocrats and patriots—though for opposing reasons—uniting in their boos and whistles. Despite many protests, Beaumarchais maintained his new version of Tarare in its form as a constitutional monarchy until August 10, 1792, when monarchy itself was no longer a viable subject.

In 1795, after the Reign of Terror, while Beaumarchais—then listed as an émigré—was in Hamburg, the Opéra revived Tarare once again, this time adapting it to the political climate of the moment. The hero could no longer be merely indifferent to the throne; he had to be actively hostile to royalty. The author’s friend Frameray took on the task of implementing this key change, in which the people of Ormuz now proclaimed a republic.

Tarare was performed again in 1802, after Beaumarchais’s death and under the rule of the First Consul. Although we have no detailed records of this version, it is easy to imagine the contemporary allusions in a work whose hero was a general elevated to power by the people.

In 1819, the opera was revived and revised once again, this time to reflect a “monarchy according to the Charter.” Atar does not die; instead, he is restored by Tarare, and the people swear allegiance to him.

Autograph score and materials from the Royal Academy of Music (Paris) :
An incomplete score is preserved at the Bibliothèque nationale de Paris – Bibliothèque de l’Opéra, under shelfmark Réserve A-320 (A). The complete orchestral, soloist, and choral parts used by the musicians of the Académie royale de musique for the 1787 premiere are also preserved there, under shelfmark MAT-274. These sources document the successive revisions made from 1790 onwards.

Autograph score (Vienna) :
The Austrian National Library also holds a manuscript in Salieri’s own hand of The Coronation of Tarare, corresponding to the 1790 revival version (shelfmark Mus. Hs. 4516 I & II).

Engraved score, Paris, Imbault, 1787 :
Copies are held at the University of North Texas Library (USA) and at the Bibliothèque nationale de France – Bibliothèque de l’Opéra, under shelfmark Réserve A-320 (B). The second edition of the score is available online.

Vocal score (voice and piano), reconstructed and reduced by Gustave Lefèvre
with an introduction by Arthur Pougin, Paris, T. Michaelis, 1884. Copies are held at the Bibliothèque de la Ville de Paris (Conservatoires, shelfmark 3 SAL 35; Médiathèque musicale, shelfmark 4/28), as well as at the Bibliothèque nationale de France (shelfmarks VM2 1203 and Vm2 1096). This vocal score is available online.

Modern edition, published by Henle (Münich, 1978)

Score and orchestral parts, Nicolas Sceaux / Les Talens Lyriques :
In order to revive Tarare by Salieri, it was necessary to produce a modern musical edition of the work, as no orchestral material was previously available. Nicolas Sceaux created a score (used by the conductor and singers) as well as separate instrumental parts (used by each orchestral musician) for Les Talens Lyriques. This edition, like the others, will be made freely available for download and public use on his personal website and on the IMSLP platform.