opera was first staged in the UK on 20 July 1833 and in the US on 4 April 1837 at the St Charles Theatre in New Orleans; later, first US performances were given in Boston on 13 May 1847 and in New York on 28 January 1848. In 1859 a French version, translated by Charles Nuitter, premiered in Paris Opera. It was prepared specially for the singer Felicita von Vestvali, who sang Romeo. The audience celebrated her performances enthusiastically and the critics compared Vestvali to Maria Malibran, Wilhelmine Schröder-Devrient and Rachel Félix. Napoleon III was so captivated with her that he presented her with a solid silver suit of armor for her performance. 20th century The opera was unheard in the 20th century until a concert performance was recorded for an RAI radio broadcast in 1957 with Antonietta Pastori as Giulietta, Fiorenza Cossotto as Romeo, and Lorin Maazel leading the music forces. The first United States performance during the 20th century was presented by the American Opera Society (AOS) in a concert version at Carnegie Hall in 1958 with Giulietta Simionato as Romeo, Laurel Hurley as Giulietta, Richard Cassilly as Tebaldo, Ezio Flagello as Cappellio, and conductor Arnold Gamson. It was the first time the opera had been performed in New York City in one hundred years, and was recorded on disc. The AOS presented the opera in concert again at Carnegie Hall in 1964 with Mary Costa as Giulietta and Simionato reprising the role of Romeo; a performance which was also recorded. La Scala staged the opera in 1967 using new designs by Emanuele Luzzati and musical forces led by Claudio Abbado. This staging reworked the part of Romeo for the tenor voice, with Giacomo Aragall taking on the role. Aragall had sung this reworked version earlier under Abbado's baton at the Teatro Comunale di Bologna and the Holland Festival in 1966 with Margherita Rinaldi as Giulietta. The La Scala production toured to Expo 67 in Montreal, and its cast included Renata Scotto as Giulietta, Luciano Pavarotti as Tybalt, Agostino Ferrin as Capulet, and Alfredo Giacomotti as Lawrence. Aragall and Scotto reprised their roles in this version of the opera with the Philadelphia Lyric Opera Company at the Academy of Music in 1968. Tenor Renzo Casellato portrayed Romeo at the Teatro Colón in 1971, and tenor Veriano Luchetti sang Romeo in La Fenice's 1973 staging. In 1975 conductor Sarah