Zaire.

Zaïre (1732) started the trend of historical drama in France. Just like Othello, this sentimental tragedy showstwo lovers from opposite cultural spheres. Voltaire was aware of the stagnation of the contemporary French stage and after spending time in England he found that the inclusion of increased action was necessary in his project to renew tragedy. Zaïre is undoubtedly Voltaire's most famous play and it was a real succès de larmes in eighteenth-century France and Europe. Characterized by a complex, diverse, and durable performance history, this tragedy forms part of the European theatrical canon, which this philosophe helped to redefine with the cautious dramatic reform in Zaïre.