Les vêpres siciliennes discography
This is a list of audio and video recordings (discography) of Giuseppe Verdi's 1855 French grand opera in five acts, Les vêpres siciliennes (The Sicilian Vespers).[1] The opera is frequently performed in Italian translation as I vespri siciliani. As is typical of French grand opera, it includes a lengthy ballet in act 3 (Les quatres saisons). Since the ballet is about 30 minutes long and has a scenario unrelated to the plot of the opera, it is usually omitted in live performances.
Audio recordings in French
| Year | Cast: (Hélène, Henri, Montfort, Procida) |
Conductor, Opera House and Orchestra |
Label[1] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1969 | Jacqueline Brumaire, Jean Bonhomme, Neilson Taylor, Ayhan Baran |
Mario Rossi, BBC Concert Orchestra, BBC Chorus (Recorded 10 May, Camden Theatre, London; first broadcast 15 February 1970; Ashley Lawrence conducted the music for the ballet) |
CD: Opera Rara Cat: ORCV303[1][2] |
| 2003 | Nelly Miricioiu, Marcello Giordani, Anthony Michaels-Moore, Ferruccio Furlanetto |
James Conlon, Paris Opera Orchestra & Chorus (Recorded live, 27 June, Opéra Bastille;[1] ballet omitted) |
CD: Celestial Audio, Cat: CA 452 |
Video recordings in French
| Year | Cast: (Hélène, Henri, Montfort, Procida) |
Conductor, Opera House and Orchestra |
Label[1] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Barbara Haveman, Burkhard Fritz, Alejandro Marco-Buhrmester, Balint Szabo |
Paolo Carignani, Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra, Chorus of the Netherlands Opera (Performed on 23 and 29 September; stage direction by Christof Loy; ballet abridged[3]) |
Blu-ray/DVD: Opus Arte[4] Cat: 1060D[5] |
| 2013 | Lianna Haroutounian, Bryan Hymel, Michael Volle, Erwin Schrott |
Antonio Pappano, Orchestra and Chorus of the Royal Opera (Performed in October; stage direction by Stefan Herheim; ballet omitted) |
Blu-ray/DVD: Opus Arte[6] |
Audio recordings in Italian
| Year | Cast: (Elena, Arrigo, Monforte, Procida) |
Conductor, Opera House and Orchestra |
Label[1] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1951 | Maria Callas, Giórgios Kokoliós-Bardi, Enzo Mascherini, Boris Christoff |
Erich Kleiber, Chorus and Orchestra of the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino (Recorded live, 26 May; includes the ballet) |
CD: Warner Classics[7] Cat: 0190295844516 |
| 1955 | Anita Cerquetti, Mario Ortica, Carlo Tagliabue, Boris Christoff |
Mario Rossi, RAI Torino Chorus and Orchestra (Recorded 9 October; broadcast 16 November; ballet omitted) |
CD: Walhall Eternity Series Cat: WLCD 0108 |
| 1973 | Martina Arroyo, Plácido Domingo, Sherrill Milnes, Ruggero Raimondi |
James Levine, New Philharmonia Orchestra, John Alldis Choir (includes the ballet) |
CD: RCA Victor Red seal Cat: RCA 63492-2 |
| 1990 | Cheryl Studer, Chris Merritt, Giorgio Zancanaro, Ferruccio Furlanetto |
Riccardo Muti, Teatro alla Scala (Recorded live, December 1989 & January 1990; includes the ballet) |
CD: EMI Cat: CDS 7 54043-2 (video below) |
| 2004 | Sondra Radvanovsky, Francisco Casanova, Leo Nucci, Samuel Ramey |
Frédéric Chaslin, Metropolitan Opera Orchestra & Chorus (Recorded live, 11 December; ballet omitted) |
Apple Music,[8] iTunes Store,[8] Met Opera on Demand[9][10] |
Video recordings in Italian
| Year | Cast: (Elena, Arrigo, Monforte, Procida) |
Conductor, Opera House and Orchestra |
Label[1] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | Susan Dunn, Veriano Luchetti, Leo Nucci, Bonaldo Giaiotti |
Riccardo Chailly, Teatro Comunale di Bologna Orchestra & Chorus (Producer: Luca Ronconi; recorded live, 9, 12 & 15 February; ballet omitted) |
DVD: NVC Arts,[1][11] Kultur Video[1] |
| 1989 | Cheryl Studer, Chris Merritt, Giorgio Zancanaro, Ferruccio Furlanetto |
Riccardo Muti, Teatro alla Scala Orchestra & Chorus (Stage director: Pier Luigi Pizzi; recorded live by RAI Television, 7 December;[1] includes the ballet, with dancers Carla Fracci and Wayne Eagling[12]) |
DVD: Opus Arte Cat: OALS3008D[1][13] (audio above) |
| 2003 | Amarilli Nizza, Renzo Zulian, Vladimir Stoyanov, Orlin Anastassov |
Stefano Ranzani, Orchestra & Chorus of Fondazione Arturo Toscanini (Production: Pier Luigi Pizzi;[14] recorded live, February, Teatro Verdi, Busseto; ballet omitted) |
DVD: Dynamic Cat:33551[1][15] |
| 2010 | Daniela Dessì, Fabio Armiliato, Leo Nucci, Giacomo Prestia |
Massimo Zanetti, Teatro Regio di Parma Orchestra & Chorus (Production: Pier Luigi Pizzi; recorded live, 13 & 17 October; ballet omitted) |
Blu-ray/DVD: C Major Cat:723904[16] |
Audio recording in German
| Year | Cast: (Elena, Arrigo, Monforte, Procida) |
Conductor, Opera House and Orchestra |
Label[1] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1951 | Maud Cunitz, Helge Rosvaenge, Heinrich Schlusnus, Otto von Rohr |
Kurt Schröder, Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra, Chor des Hessischen Rundfunks (Radio recording of 12 February 1951) |
LP: DGG Cat: LPEM 19244/46 |
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Unless otherwise noted, information is from Recordings of the opera listed on operadis-opera-discography.org
- ^ Alan Blyth, "A fine and welcome performance of Verdi's original French version", Gramophone, February 2005, pp. 81–82.
- ^ Hugh Canning, Review of 2010 Netherlands opera production of Les Vêpres siciliennes, Opera, February 2011, pp. 193–194: "the ballet music is abbreviated ... [Choreographer Thomas] Wilhelm’s Quattro Staggioni ballet strains to link Verdi’s entertainment music by creating a flashback sequence of acrobatics rather than dance, depicting the childhoods of Hélène, Henri and Montfort. Loy writes in the synopsis: 'Henri dreams of a life in which his mother, father, beloved and friends are capable of living in harmony together, but the dream is shattered'. ... [The cast] are decent singers, though Haveman struggled with her Bolero, but I wouldn't travel far to hear any of them sing Verdi, especially French Verdi, again."
- ^ Netherlands Opera (2010): Opus Arte, Blu-ray (2011) OCLC 760171346; DVD (2011) OCLC 977978089.
- ^ Richard Lawrence, "A rare outing for French grand opera on DVD", Gramophone, December 2011, p. 102.
- ^ Royal Opera (2013): Opus Arte, Blu-ray (2015) OCLC 956538104, 903960143; DVD (2015) OCLC 905385323, 1050341588.
- ^ Florence, 1951, Warner Classics CDs (2017), OCLC 997045263.
- ^ a b "Newly released on iTunes and Apple Music: Verdi’s riveting “I Vespri Siciliani”, The Metropolitan Opera Post on Facebook (5 October 2017).
- ^ Met Opera, 2004, Met Opera on Demand; CID:351103, Met Opera DB.
- ^ Anthony Tommasini (11 November 2004), "Forget the Convoluted Plot and Focus on the Music", The New York Times.
- ^ I Vespri Siciliani, Bologna, DVD, Warner Classics. Retrieved 25 November 2025.
- ^ La Scala, 1989, DVD: ASIN B00030EQXY.
- ^ Alan Blyth, "Two absorbing Verdi interpretations [Ernani and I vespri siciliani] from 1980s La Scala", Gramophone, January 2005, pp. 101–102.
- ^ Busseto, 2003. OCLC 166346569.
- ^ John Steane, "One off the budget shelf but musically this production throws up some riches", Gramophone, Awards Issue 2007, p. 129.
- ^ "I Vespri Siciliani". Naxos.com. Retrieved 15 June 2015.