La Vestale by Gaspare Spontini - Interview with conductor Christophe Rousset

'La Vestale' by Gaspare Spontini
‘French opera’ series | volume 35 | 2023 | Bru Zane Label
Bilingual CD-book in French and English
2 CDs / book: 154 pages
💿bit.ly/LaVestalefr
World premiere recording on period instruments.
Lyrical tragedy in three acts. Libretto by Étienne de Jouy.
First performed at the Imperial Academy of Music on 15 December 1807.
Christophe Rousset conductor
LES TALENS LYRIQUES
FLEMISH RADIO CHOIR
with Marina Rebeka, Stanislas de Barbeyrac, Tassis Christoyannis, Aude Extrémo, Nicolas Courjal, David Witczak.
Guilty of allowing the sacred fire to go out while declaring her love to the general Licinius, the Vestal Virgin Julia is sentenced to be buried alive. But her execution is averted by a divine intervention, which rekindles the altar flame and absolves the victim. The simple plot of Gaspare Spontini’s La Vestale achieved resounding success in 1807 thanks to the highly skilled treatment of the characters’ psychology and the transparency of the political allusions - Licinius is an allegory of Napoleon Bonaparte himself. Yet the work is more than a mere piece of propaganda: it represents one of the links between the tragédie lyrique of the Ancien Régime and the future grand opéra à la française, even anticipating Bellinian bel canto. The opera’s focal point is the character of Julia, which requires an exceptional soprano to do it justice. After the creator, Caroline Branchu - whom Berlioz described as ‘operatic tragedy incarnate’ - and Maria Callas at La Scala in 1954, Marina Rebeka takes on in masterly fashion a role that seems tailor-made for her impressive vocal resources, supported by the energy and precision of the period instruments of Les Talens Lyriques under Christophe Rousset. The result is genuinely revelatory.
Recording from 17 to 20 June 2022 at the Riffx Studios at the Seine Musicale (Paris)
Scores: Palazzetto Bru Zane
#Spontini #LaVestale #BruZaneLabel