La Vestale

La Vestale (The Vestal Virgin) is a French opera in three acts. Gaspare Spontini wrote the music. The libretto is by Étienne de Jouy. It was first performed in Paris on 15 December 1807. The Italian version by Giovanni Schmidt was performed in Naples on 1811. The opera is Spontini's most successful work. It was revived in 1954 for Maria Callas.

Principal characters

• Julia - soprano
• Great Vestal - mezzo-soprano
• Licinius - tenor
• Cinna - tenor or baritone
• Chief Priest - bass
• Chief of the Aruspices - bass

Discography

• 1928: Mercedes Capsir (Giulia), Maria Capuana (Gran Vestale), Alessandro Granda (Licinius), Carlo Galeffi (Cinna), Nazarreno de Angelis (Sommo Sacerdote), Corrado Zambelli (Aruspice); Coro e Orchestra del Teatro alla Scala di Milano, Lorenzo Molajoli - (EMI Classics); (Italian Version)
• 1951: Maria Vitale (Giulia), Elena Nicolai (Gran Vestale), Renato Gavarini (Licinius), Alfredo Fineschi (Cinna), Giuliano Ferrein (Sommo Sacerdote), Albino Gaggi (Aruspice/ Un Console); Coro e Orchestra della RAI di Roma, Fernando Previtali - (Warner Fonit); (Italian Version)
• 1954: Maria Callas (Giulia), Ebe Stignani (Gran Vestale), Franco Corelli (Licinius), Enzo Sordello (Cinna), Nicola Rossi-Lemeni (Sommo Sacerdote), Nicola Zaccaria (Aruspice); Coro e Orchestra del Teatro alla Scala di Milano, Antonino Votto - (Andromeda); (Italian Version)
• 1962: Renata Tebaldi (Giulia), Giulietta Simionato (Gran Vestale), Carlo Bergonzi (Licinius), Ettore Bastianini (Cinna), Cesare Siepi (Sommo Sacerdote), Plinio Clabassi (Aruspice); Coro e Orchestra dell'Accademia di Santa Cecilia, Gianandrea Gavazzeni (Decca); (Italian Version)
• 1969: Leyla Gencer (Giulia), Franca Mattiucci (Gran Vestale), Robleto Merolla (Licinius), Renato Bruson (Cinna), Agostino Ferrin (Sommo Sacerdote), Sergio Sisti (Aruspice); Coro e Orchestra del Teatro Massimo di Palermo, Fernando Previtali - (Nuova Era); (Italian Version)
• 1979: Gwyneth Jones (Giulia), Elena Obraztsova (Gran Vestale), Plácido Domingo (Licinius), Rolando Panerai (Cinna), Justino Díaz (Sommo Sacerdote), John Cheek (Aruspice); Ambrosian Opera Chorus, Philharmonia Orchestra, James Levine - (EMI Classics); (Italian Version)
• 1980: Joan Sutherland (Giulia), Huguette Tourangeau (Gran Vestale), Luciano Pavarotti (Licinius), Sherrill Milnes (Cinna), Nicolai Ghiaurov (Sommo Sacerdote), Richard van Allan (Aruspice); London Opera Chorus, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Antal Doráti - (Decca); (Italian Version)
• 1988: Hildegard Behrens (Giulia), Ann Murray (Gran Vestale), Neil Shicoff (Licinius), Plácido Domingo (Cinna), Samuel Ramey (Sommo Sacerdote), John Tomlinson (Aruspice); Ambrosian Opera Chorus, Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields, Neville Marriner - (Philips); (Italian Version)
• 1991: Rosalind Plowright (Julia), Gisella Pasino (La Grande Vestale), Francisco Araiza (Licinius), Pierre Lefèbre (Cinna), Arturo Cauli (Le Souveraine Pontife), Franco De Grandis (Le Chef des Auspices); Chor des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Münchner Rundfunkorchester, Gustav Kuhn - (Orfeo); (French Version)
• 1993: Karen Huffstodt (Julia), Denyce Graves (La Grande Vestale), Anthony Michaels-Moore (Licinius), J. Patrick Raftery (Cinna), Dimitri Kavrakos (Le Souveraine Pontife), Aldo Bramante (Le Chef des Auspices); Coro e Orchestra del Teatro alla Scala di Milano, Riccardo Muti - (Sony); (French Version)
• 2003: Hillevi Martinpelto (Julia), Anne Sofie von Otter (La Grande Vestale), Jonas Kaufmann (Licinius), Kim Begley (Cinna), Erwin Schrott (Le Souveraine Pontife), Alastair Miles (Le Chef des Auspices); Monteverdi Choir, Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique, John Eliot Gardiner - (Archiv Produktion); (French Version)

Reference

• The Complete Dictionary of Opera & Operetta, James Anderson, Wings Books, 1993.