Spontini - La Vestale (CD + Book)

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Label: Bru Zane

Cat No: BZ1051

Format: CD + Book

Number of Discs: 2

Genre: Opera

Release Date: 5th May 2023

Works

Spontini, Gaspare

La Vestale

Artists

Marina Rebeka
Stanislas de Barbeyrac
Tassis Christoyannis
Aude Extremo
Nicolas Courjal
David Witczak
Flemish Radio Choir
Les Talens Lyriques

Conductor

Christophe Rousset

Works

Spontini, Gaspare

La Vestale

Artists

Marina Rebeka
Stanislas de Barbeyrac
Tassis Christoyannis
Aude Extremo
Nicolas Courjal
David Witczak
Flemish Radio Choir
Les Talens Lyriques

Conductor

Christophe Rousset

About

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.

Cast:
- Julia: Marina Rebeka
- Licinius: Stanislas de Barbeyrac
- Cinna: Tassis Christoyannis
- La Grande Vestale: Aude Extrémo
- Le Souverain Pontife: Nicolas Courjal
- Un Consul / Le Chef des Aruspices: David Witczak

Sound/Video

Paused

1

Ouverture
2

Act I Récit et Air. La nuit achève sa carrière
3

Act I Récit. Près de ce temple auguste à Vesta consacré
4

Act I Air. Dans le sein d'un ami fidèle
5

Act I Récit. Eh bien ! Partage donc mon crime et ma fureur
6

Act I Duo. Quand l'amitié seconde mon courage
7

Act I Hymne du matin. Fille du ciel, éternelle Vesta
8

Act I Récit et Marche. Prêtresses, dans ce jour, Rome victorieuse
9

Act I Récit. Pour la dernière fois
10

Act I Air. L'amour est un monstre barbare
11

Act I Récit. Au nom de tous les dieux, de Vesta que j'adore
12

Act I Air et Choeur. Licinius, je vais donc te revoir
13

Act I Choeur. De lauriers couvrons les chemins
14

Act I Récit et Scène. Mars a guidé nos pas aux champs de la victoire
15

Act I Choeur. De Vesta chaste prêtresse
16

Act I Scène. Grands dieux ! Soutenez ma faiblesse
17

Act I Choeur. La paix est en ce jour le prix de vos conquêtes
18

Act I Récit. Peuple, cessez vos jeux
19

Act I Marche pour le départ des Vestales
20

Act I Choeur. De lauriers couvrons les chemins
21

Act II Hymne du soir. Feu créateur, âme du monde
22

Act II Récit. Du plus auguste ministère
23

Act II Air. Toi que j'implore avec effroi
24

Act II Récit et Air. Sur cet autel sacré que ma douleur assiège
25

Act II Récit. Julia !
26

Act II Air et Récit. Les dieux prendront pitié du sort qui nous accable
27

Act II Duo et Récit. Quel trouble ! Quels transports !
28

Act II Trio avec choeur et Récit. Ah ! Si je te suis chère
29

Act II Choeur. Les dieux demandent vengeance
30

Act II Scène. Ô crime ! Ô désespoir ! Ô comble des revers !
31

Act II Air. Ô des infortunés, déesse tutélaire !
32

Act II Scène. Nommez le mortel téméraire
33

Act II Finale. De son front, que la honte accable
34

Act III Prélude et Récit. Qu'ai-je vu ! quels apprêts ! quel spectacle d'horreur !
35

Act III Air. Non, non, je vis encore
36

Act III Récit. Cinna, que fait l'armée
37

Act III Air. Ce n'est plus le temps d'écouter
38

Act III Récit. Mais avant de tenter un combat inégal
39

Act III Récit. Pontife de nos dieux !
40

Act III Duo. C'est à toi de trembler
41

Act III Récit. Différons, croyez-moi, l'instant du sacrifice
42

Act III Choeur. Périsse la vestale impie
43

Act III Duo et Récit. Adieu, mes tendres soeurs
44

Act III Air. Toi que je laisse sur la terre
45

Act III Arioso et Récit. Dieux puissants de cet empire
46

Act III Choeur. Vesta, nous t'implorons pour la vierge coupable
47

Act III Scène. Les dieux ont prononcé son juste châtiment
48

Act III Choeur et Scène. Ô terreur ! Ô disgrâce !
49

Act III Choeur et Danse générale. Chants d'allégresse

Europadisc Review

Gaspare Spontini’s La Vestale is known today more by reputation – as a key work in the development of French 19th-century opera – than in performance. Composed in 1805 and premiered two years later only after great struggles with the regime at the Paris Opéra, Spontini's first tragédie lyrique for the Parisian stage was a huge success, remaining in the repertoire for decades before giving way to late-19th-century tastes. Previously Spontini had limited success in Italian opera houses, before moving to Paris and writing three opéras comiques. But it was La Vestale that established his reputation as one of the most innovative composers of French opera after Gluck and Cherubini. Further works for Paris – Fernand Cortez (1809) and Olimpie (1819) – exceeded it in spectacle, but couldn’t match it dramatically or musically. Nor did Spontini produce anything like these three works when he moved to Berlin as Generalmusikdirektor to the king of Prussia, before returning to his native Maiolati where he died at the age of 76.

In the mid-20th century, La Vestale saw a revival in fortunes, appropriated (in Italian) as a vehicle for such greats of the bel canto repertoire as Rosa Ponselle, Maria Callas (at La Scala in 1954, in Luchino Visconti’s debut opera production), Renata Scotto and Montserrat Caballé. Yet even though it has occasionally been revived in its original French, the opera presents thorny textual and casting problems: these have now been tackled head-on by the talented experts at the Palazetto Bru Zane, and the result is a new edition and recording of the work in its original form, bringing with it all the freshness and musico-dramatic clarity of Spontini’s original vision.

Set in Rome in the 3rd century BC, La Vestale is a classic tale of the conflict between love and duty. The Roman general Licinius returns home from a victorious campaign to discover that his beloved Julia has been forced by her father to become a Vestal virgin. Moreover, she is to present him with the honours at an official ceremony. The pair arrange to meet later at the temple of Vesta, where Julia guards the sacred flame: as they prepare to consummate their love, the flame goes out. Licinius is persuaded to flee rather than cast shame on Julia, but she is still sentenced by the Chief Priest to be buried alive. In the final act, Licinius’s admission of guilt does nothing to prevent the sentence being carried out. Just as he and a band of soldiers prepare to rescue Julia from her fate, a storm breaks and lightning reignites the sacred flame. Taking this as a sign of the goddess’s mercy, the Priest releases Julia, and she and Licinius marry amid general rejoicing.

This simple plot is enlivened by important supporting roles for Cinna (Licinius’s comrade-in-arms) and the Great Vestal (mezzo-soprano) who, together with the Chief Priest, are rendered vividly by text and music. Spontini’s music, with the voices supported by an imaginatively scored orchestra, prioritises Étienne de Jouy's text over mere vocal display, very much in the Gluckian tradition, yet the harmonies and tight pacing of the action are forward looking. No wonder that, with the crucial support of the Empress Joséphine herself, the work scored such a success, earning the admiration of such figures as Berlioz and the young Wagner.

As originally intended by Spontini, the roles of Licinius and his faithful companion Cinna are subtly differentiated, respectively a low tenor (or ‘baritenor’) and high baritone. Stanislas de Barbeyrac and Tassis Christoyannis fill these requirements admirably, close enough in tone to make their Act 1 friendship duet (‘Quand l’amitié seconde mon courage’) one of the recording’s many highlights, but sufficiently different to make their exchanges intelligible. Mezzo-soprano Aude Extrémo cuts an imposing yet motherly figure as the Great Vestal: her Act 3 duet with Julia (‘Adieu, mes tendres soeurs’) is another standout moment. Bass Nicolas Courjal is a commanding but sympathetic Chief Priest (or ‘Souverain Pontife’, as the French has it).

As the titular heroine, soprano Marina Rebeka is simply outstanding, making light work of a hugely taxing role. Her upper register gleams, her lower register has all the warmth and sensitivity one could want, and she lives every word and phrase. As well as her great Act 2 scene (‘Toi que j'implore... Impitoyables dieux’) with its striking horn solo played here with great character on a natural horn, her Act 3 aria ‘Toi que je laisse sur la terre’ is enormously touching, a moment of great tenderness and stillness amid all the drama.

To compensate for the lack of stage spectacle that helped to make the premiere of La Vestale such an enormous hit, the original instruments of Les Talens Lyriques under the vibrant direction of Christophe Rousset bring Spontini’s fabulously inventive score vividly to life, the wind playing being particularly fine. Rousset knows exactly when to push the music on, matching the urgent pacing that Spontini favoured – a huge contrast with the more sedate speeds of later bel canto performances of this work. The Flemish Radio Choir bring polish and enthusiasm to their important contributions. The high drama of Act 2 and the mounting tensions of Act 3 are grippingly communicated, and throughout one wonders as much at Spontini’s sure sense of dramatic trajectory as at his teeming capacity for memorable melody and harmony.

As always with Bru Zane, the exceptionally fine recording is matched by a lavishly presented hardback book (with ribbon markers!), containing in-depth articles on the opera and its background, and sharply printed libretto and translation. It’s a sumptuous package that at last does justice to one of the 19th century’s most influential and highly-regarded operas, and one of the highlights of our listening year thus far!

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Spontini - La Vestale (CD + Book)

In stock - available for despatch within 1 working day

Despatch Information

Contents

Works

Artists

Conductor

Works

Artists

Conductor

About

Sound/Video

Paused

Europadisc Review