A tenor, a curse, and a mask—what could possibly go wrong at this party?
Passion, loyalty and political conspiracy are the three pillars of Un ballo in maschera (1859), the 'most operatic of all operas'. Set in 19th-century Boston, Mario Martone's atmospheric production for the Teatro Real brings out all the innate theatricality and drama of Verdi's work. World famous Argentinean tenor Marcelo Álvarez, in the role of Riccardo, leads a fabulous cast including Lithuanian soprano Violeta Urmana as his lover Amelia, and Elena Zaremba as the witch Ulrica. Jesús López Cobos conducts the Madrid Symphony Orchestra and Chorus in a performance that emphasises the lyricism and majesty of this wonderful work, in which grand opera and opera comique are woven into the Classical Italian Opera style.
Acting
Álvarez's Riccardo: doomed charisma in every note
Direction
Martone's staging makes Boston feel deliciously cursed
Score
Cobos conducts Verdi like he's revealing secrets
Director
Ángel Luis Ramírez
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Verdi originally set this in Sweden with King Gustav III, but censors forced him to relocate to colonial Boston—making this the rare opera where American history accidentally collides with Italian melodrama.
The masked ball scene was so theatrically explosive that it inspired actual assassination fears; Verdi had to fight to keep the gunshot onstage.
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