About the work
Axur, re d'Ormus is a dramma tragicomico in five acts by Antonio Salieri to a libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte – the Italian reworking of Salieri's Tarare, first performed in Paris just months earlier to a libretto by Pierre Beaumarchais. It premiered at the Vienna Burgtheater on 8 January 1788, with the title role sung by Francesco Benucci, Mozart's first Figaro.
Plot
The tyrannical King Axur lets his general Atar believe that a foreign enemy has abducted his wife Aspasia, while in truth he holds her captive in his own harem. His slave Biscroma reveals the truth to Atar and smuggles him, disguised, into the palace. A popular uprising against Axur finally places Atar on the throne.
Cultural significance
Axur remained one of the most frequently performed operas at the Viennese court theatre for decades and cemented Salieri's standing as the emperor's leading opera composer alongside Mozart.