Manic Monday Mozart – Julia Varady sings "Vengo ! Aspatate"

The polar opposite (tempo-wise, at least) of Harnoncourt and Röschmann in Salzburg, this is Julia Varady (from the John Eliot Gardiner La Clemenza di Tito recording again) as Vitellia. No wonder Sesto is so confused; this Vitellia is really a mess: 

I love you, I hate you; kill him, don't kill him; why didn't you kill him? Oh right. I told you not to. OMG why did you try to kill him? Oh right. I told you to...

With this tempo and snappy articulation in the strings, we really feel Vitellia's panic. The first really high note she sings really sounds like a (very musical) scream! I also love her stacatti on those high notes at the end.

Julia Varady was my first Vitellia, so she set the tone for me. She and Dorothea Röschmann are both mezzo-y enough to make a great impact in this difficult role, but are different enough from one another that they both have a place in my heart.