La Vestale

La Vestale, which premiered in Napoleonic Paris in 1807, was Gaspare Spontini’s greatest success to date. As Prussia’s general music director, Spontini conducted the Berlin Royal Opera from 1820 to 1841. With its large-scale scenes, La Vestale became one of the most successful operas of the nineteenth century. The complex use of the chorus, instrumental effects, and ballet scenes had an influence on composers such as Richard Wagner, and Hector Berlioz. In this production, director Lydia Steier, who recently brought Les Contes d’Hoffmann to the stage will trace out the brutal mechanisms of an autocratic regime.