After the successful premiere of "La vestale" at the Teatro San Carlo in Naples on 10th March 1840, the 44-yearold Mercadante, already possessing a string of successes that started with "Il giuramento" and continued through "Elena da Feltre" and "Il bravo", was arguably second only to Donizetti in the field of Italian opera composers. "La vestale" too had an enthusiastic reception: in its first five years it travelled to Paris, Vienna, Berlin, and at least 32 Italian cities.

The present selections come from Naxos' attractive recording of the work (the only one to be available at the moment):

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No. 6. Prayer for Giunia. Giunia's only aria is one of the more traditional expressions of emotions that the opera houses but it does not mean that it falls flat, quite the contrary. Even before the voice enters, a short but rich prelude already catches one's attention, contrasting the oboe and the flute in a most harmonious ensemble. The prayer itself, sung by Giunia for Emilia's sake, is simple yet painstakingly immediate, bringing an unexpected depth to a part that could be considered rather pointless.

No. 8. Aria for Metello. Metello's solo is unneeded for the drama, as the main tragedy has already happened (Emilia has just been taken away by the soldiers), but it provides an important context for the opera, giving us a reaction of the populace to the extinction of the flame. The scene is graced by Mercadante's wonderful writing for both the soloist and the chorus, recalling several similar scenes (in particular, for myself, the great scene by Pacini as Ottavia is sentenced to be entombed alive on the backdrop of Vesuvius' eruption)

Agata Bienkowska - Guinia,
Andrea Patucelli - Metello.

Hope you'll enjoy :).

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