View source for The Vestal

{{about|the ballet|the type of priestess|Vestal Virgin|other uses|Vestal (disambiguation)}}
{{Infobox ballet
| name           = La Vestale
| image          = Image:Vestal -Lucio -Mikhail Mordkin -circa 1900.JPG
| image_size     = 200px
| caption        = Mikhail Mordkin as Lucio ca. 1900
| choreographer  = [[Marius Petipa]]
| composer       = [[Mikhail Ivanov (composer)|Mikhail Ivanov]]
| librettist     = Sergei Khudekov
| based_on       =
| premiere       =  {{OldStyleDate|17 February|1888|29 January}} (Imperial Mariinsky Theatre)
| place          =  [[St. Petersburg, Russia]]
| characters     =  
| designer       =   
| setting        =
| created_for    =  
| genre          = Grand ballet
| type           = 
}}

'''''La Vestale''''' ([[English Language|en.]] ''The Vestal'') is a ''grand [[ballet]]'' in three acts and four scenes with choreography by [[Marius Petipa]] and music by [[Mikhail Ivanov (composer)|Mikhail Ivanov]]. The ballet was first presented by the [[Mariinsky Ballet|Imperial Ballet]] on {{OldStyleDate|17 February|1888|29 January}} at the [[Imperial Mariinsky Theatre]] in [[St. Petersburg, Russia]].

== History ==
After the extraordinary success of the Italian ''Prima Ballerina'' [[Virginia Zucchi|Virginia Zucchi's]] performances in ''[[La Esmeralda (ballet)|La Esmeralda]]'' in St Petersburg, Petipa went on to produce some of the finest ballets in his repertoire for Italian ballerinas. One of these great ballets was ''The Vestal'', which was created for the benefit performance of [[Elena Cornalba]]. The ballet was a phenomenal success and among ballet historians, it is considered the predecessor of ''[[The Sleeping Beauty Ballet|The Sleeping Beauty]]''. Many critics who saw the première commented unanimously that the work was the epitome of the ''Ballet à Grand Spectacle''. Set in [[Ancient Rome]], the ballet was built on fantastical themes, complete with gods and goddesses, Emperors, and the like. The sets, costumes, and props were considered the best yet seen on the Imperial stage. Mikhail Ivanov's music proved to be the first successful score for the ballet that was provided by a symphonic composer.<ref>{{Cite book| author = Wiley, Roland John| title = A Century of Russian Ballet| publisher = Dance Books Ltd, Hampshire| year = 2007}}</ref>

Although the ballet was not notated and is not performed today, at least two variations from the ballet's score are used in different pieces. One variation is that entitled ''L'Armour'', which was composed and added to the score by [[Riccardo Drigo]] as a variation for [[Cupid]], the God of Love. This variation was performed with great acclaim by the ballerina, Maria Anderson and appears in the Bolshoi Ballet's staging of the ''[[Paquita|Paquita Grand Pas Classique]]'', staged by Russian choreographer, [[Yuri Burlaka]]. Burlaka also utilised another supplemental variation by Drigo for his ''Awakening of Flora Pas de quatre''; this variation is entitled ''L'Echo'' and was composed and added to the score by Drigo for Elena Cornalba.

== Roles and original cast ==
{| class="wikitable" border="1" 
!style="background:#4682BF; color:white;"|Role
!style="background:#4682BF; color:white;"|Dancer
|-
|Amata
|[[Elena Cornalba]]
|-
|Lucio
|[[Pavel Gerdt]]
|-
|Claudia
|[[Maria Gorshenkova]]
|-
|Senator Julius Flac
|[[Felix Kschessinsky]]
|-
|The High Priest
|[[Nikolai Aistov]]
|-
|Lelia
|[[Anna Johansson (dancer)|Anna Johansson]]
|}

== References ==
<references />

== External links ==
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OTGtSosEVSE  Yuri Burlaka's ''Awakening of Flora Pas de quatre'' featuring the supplemental variation ''L'Echo'' by Riccardo Drigo]
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cw8P8kjBgXA  The Bolshoi Ballet's performance of the ''Paquita Grand Pas Classique'' featuring the supplemental variation ''L'Armour'' by Drigo]

{{Ballets of Marius Petipa}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vestal}}
[[Category:Ballets by Marius Petipa]]
[[Category:1880s ballets]]
[[Category:1888 works]]
[[Category:Ballets by Mikhail Ivanov]]
[[Category:Ballets premiered at the Mariinsky Theatre]]