Antonio Salieri: Tarare

I have been loving Rousset’s journey through the operas of Salieri. First we got La grotta di Trofonio, then Les Danaïdes, the Les Horaces, and now Tarare. All four are performances of the highest quality and are worthy to explore. Danaïdes is not to be missed - it is sensational. Berlioz was highly impressed and inspired by this work. Of the four recordings I would rank Tarare as the best, followed by Danaïdes, then Trofonio (which is spectacular) and Les Horaces (which I am struggling with). Tarare is just a magnificent work - both in score and libretto. Not to be missed. Salieri was a far greater composer than the world treated him. He does not to deserve to be best known as that mediocrity to supposedly killed his rival Mozart. He was a great composer in his own right, and works such as the ones recording by Rousset are a testament to that.