Voltaire

Voltaire, born François-Marie Arouet, was a French writer and philosopherWikipedia (2026) Voltaire. (Accessed: 30 September 2026).Ridgway, R. S. (1992) 'Voltaire [Voltaire, François Marie Arouet de; Arouet, François Marie]', in Sadie, S. (ed.) The New Grove Dictionary of Opera. London: Macmillan Reference, vol. 4, pp. 1041-1042. of the EnlightenmentWikipedia (2026) Voltaire. (Accessed: 30 September 2026). and the author of CandideWikipedia (2026) Voltaire. (Accessed: 30 September 2026).Ridgway, R. S. (1992) 'Voltaire [Voltaire, François Marie Arouet de; Arouet, François Marie]', in Sadie, S. (ed.) The New Grove Dictionary of Opera. London: Macmillan Reference, vol. 4, pp. 1041-1042.. He wrote in almost every formWikipedia (2026) Voltaire. (Accessed: 30 September 2026)., and knew the Bastille and exile in England before settling at Ferney, near GenevaWikipedia (2026) Voltaire. (Accessed: 30 September 2026).. His works include seven librettos, among them a Samson for Rameau abandoned under church oppositionRidgway, R. S. (1992) 'Voltaire [Voltaire, François Marie Arouet de; Arouet, François Marie]', in Sadie, S. (ed.) The New Grove Dictionary of Opera. London: Macmillan Reference, vol. 4, pp. 1041-1042., but his mark on opera came through his tragedies, full of extreme situations and clashes of faith and raceRidgway, R. S. (1992) 'Voltaire [Voltaire, François Marie Arouet de; Arouet, François Marie]', in Sadie, S. (ed.) The New Grove Dictionary of Opera. London: Macmillan Reference, vol. 4, pp. 1041-1042.. Over seventy operas of the decades around 1800 were based on them aloneRidgway, R. S. (1992) 'Voltaire [Voltaire, François Marie Arouet de; Arouet, François Marie]', in Sadie, S. (ed.) The New Grove Dictionary of Opera. London: Macmillan Reference, vol. 4, pp. 1041-1042., among them Rossini's Tancredi and Semiramide, Bellini's Zaira and Verdi's AlziraRidgway, R. S. (1992) 'Voltaire [Voltaire, François Marie Arouet de; Arouet, François Marie]', in Sadie, S. (ed.) The New Grove Dictionary of Opera. London: Macmillan Reference, vol. 4, pp. 1041-1042.Wikipedia (2026) Voltaire. (Accessed: 30 September 2026)..