This is the version of I Capuleti e i Montecchi made for La Scala, where it was first staged on 26th December 1830, featuring two female voices in the roles of Romeo and Juliet. This opera is usually performed with a tenor as Romeo, but at La Scala Bellini found a different singing troupe which obliged him to cast not the en travesti warrior of Rossinian manner (like Tancredi, Arsace, Malcolm) but a wholly female Romeo, ardent and authoritative yet at the same time languid, sensual and soft. The choice of this Capuleti at the 2005 Martina Franca Festival was also dictated by the availability of Patrizia Ciofi. This great specialist of romantic belcanto had never been offered the role of Giulietta in Capuleti, a role which is absolutely ideal for her vocal talents.
The love between Sita, the priestess of the temple of Indra, and an unknown stranger, who is actually Alim the King of Lahore, is hindered by Scindia who wants to take the throne and to marry Sita. When Scindia discovers the lover's true identity, he accuses him before the high priest Timour, who condemnsns him to go into battle against the muslims. In the battle Alim is defeated, and, seriouslyy wounded, returns to Lahore where he ides in the arms of his beloved Sita. Having g risen in to the Hindu paradise and been reincarnated aim turns to Lahore just in time to witness the usurper's splendid coronation and to reveal Scindia's crimes to the entire populace, In the last act the two lovers take refuge in the temple of Indra to escape from Scindia: Sita takes her own life with a dagger thus provoking Alim's death. The two lovers will be together in the hereafter.
