Guilty of having let the sacred fire go out while she declared her love to General Licinius, Julia is to be buried alive. Her execution is, however, interrupted by divine intervention that rekindles the altar and absolves the victim. The simplicity of the plot of Gaspare Spontini’s La Vestale achieved resounding success in 1807 thanks to the masterful treatment of the characters’ psychology and the transparency of the political allusions (Licinius being none other than the allegory of Napoleon Bonaparte himself). More than a work of propaganda, the score stands out as one of the links between the tragédie lyrique of the Ancien Régime and the future French grand opera, even anticipating Bellini’s bel canto.