A tableau is a staged moment where performers freeze in a visually powerful pose or arrangement, almost like a living picture. Instead of dialogue or movement, the image itself communicates the meaning—whether it’s celebrating triumph, mourning loss, or showing a turning point in the story. In an opera such as Ça Ira, which dramatizes the French Revolution, tableaux are often used to symbolize big events like the storming of the Bastille or the collective spirit of the people.