About “Zaïre”
Zaïre is a five-act tragedy in verse written by Voltaire. It was composed in three weeks and first performed on 13 August 1732 by the Comédie française in Paris. The play was well received and signaled a shift in tragic themes, moving away from flaws in the protagonist’s character to stories driven by emotional suffering. The heroine’s tragic end results from the jealousy of her Muslim lover and the intolerance of her Christian peers. It was revived in 1874 with Sarah Bernhardt in the title role and was the only one of Voltaire’s plays performed by the Comédie française in the 20th century. An English adaptation by Aaron Hill kept the play popular in Britain through the 19th century, and it inspired at least thirteen operas. (Summary adapted from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.)