Tayau made his debut at the Théâtre des Bouffes-Parisiens as Pâris, an amourous violinist, in "Six demoiselles à marier", a one-act opérette by Delibes (November 1856) in which he also played the violin, and followed this early the next year with Ramasse-ta-Tête in the premiere of "Croquefer" by Offenbach, swiftly followed by the dancing master Tityre in "Dragonette", and in May that year Arthur in "Vent du soir, ou L'horrible festin", before the Bouffes tour to the British Isles.