The Vestal

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

History

After the extraordinary success of the Italian Prima Ballerina Virginia Zucchi's performances in 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. 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.