The French-language libretto by Philippe Desriaux is based on the 1748 tragedy of the same name by Voltaire, which concerns the legendary Queen Semiramis of Babylon.
As Fétis explained in his biographical article on the composer: Catel, known to be close to the director, Sarrette, and therefore likely to influence the school's policies, was in a particularly vulnerable position.
This probably explains why Catel experienced such difficulties when he made his début as a composer of dramatic works, and why there existed a discrepancy between his great talent and his meagre fame; for, although he had devoted friends among the theatre artistes and members of the orchestra, his enemies were numerous among the audience in the stalls, whence no doubt the hostility he was shown when Sémiramis was staged in 1802.
The Opéra management assigned the title role to their leading soprano Maillard, but she was unable to cope and withdrew after only a few performances.
[5] One journalist praised the "extraordinary splendour of the décors" and "the amazing richness and variety of the costumes, shining with gold and silver.
"[6] The choice of libretto was part of the vogue for setting French Classical tragedies which had begun under Louis XVI with such works as Grétry's Andromaque (based on Racine).
In fact, Voltaire's Sémiramis later formed the basis of the libretto to one of Rossini's most admired tragic operas, Semiramide (1823).
[11] Some critics also complained that Catel's music was unmelodic compared to the works of Antonio Sacchini and Niccolò Piccinni, which had been favourites at the Paris Opéra.
This was because Catel was more influenced by the musical style pioneered at the Opéra Comique during the 1790s by composers such as Luigi Cherubini, Étienne Méhul and Jean-François Lesueur.
Dent called it "a work of great dignity, with remarkable premonitions of Romanticism"[17] and David Charlton has observed, "The doom-laden atmosphere of the plot is well captured throughout the score.
The ghost of her murdered husband Ninus has appeared to her demanding revenge for himself and their son Ninias, who has disappeared without trace.
This horrifies Azéma, but even more so the high priest Oroès, who has recognised that Arzace is really Sémiramis' lost son Ninias.