Voltaire, on the contrary, had enormous success with his first tragedy, Œdipe, which was created by the Comédiens-Français in 1718. He would soon write some thirty other plays for them, including Zaïre (1732), Sémiramis (1748) and l'Orphelin de la Chine (1755). Voltaire's interest in the stage, his passionate experiences and his successes made him one of the vital figures of the 18th-century French stage, although his plays are all quite forgotten today.
There was a succession of great actors who developed their acting before a knowledgeable and passionate audience: crowds came to applaud Mesdemoiselles Duclos, Dangeville and Lecouvreur, and later, Mesdemoiselles Clairon, Dumesnil and Vestris, while the male roles were given to Lekain, Brizard, Préville, Molé etc.