The basis was the ballad of the same name by Mikhail Lermontov, Tamara ("In the deep gully of Dariala..."),[1] written by the poet around 1837 under the impression of the old Georgian legend apparently heard in the Caucasus as a fantastic depiction of the Queen Tamar of Georgia.
The severe crisis that struck the composer in the early 1870s interrupted his work - it was only in 1876, at the insistence of M. Glinka’s sister, L. I. Shestakova, that Balakirev resumed the composition.
Then appears the love call of the Tsarina Tamara presented by the English horn later repeated by the oboe, which brings the traveler to the mysterious castle.
Sergei Diaghilev, who met Balakirev in 1893, in 1907 included "Tamara" in the repertoire of "Russian historical concerts" organized by him in Paris, held at the Théâtre du Grand Opéra and attracted the attention of the French music community.
The main roles were performed by Tamara Karsavina and Adolph Bolm, the premiere took place at the Châtelet Theatre in Paris on 20 May 1912.