UN BALLO IN MASCHERA
“The Masked Ball”
Giuseppe Verdi, 1859
"A masterpiece of musical drama," on and off stage...
Originally written to tell the story of the 1792 assassination of King Gustav III of Sweden, political tensions in Italy and across Europe in 1859 forced Verdi to re-write the plot. He finally agreed to scrap Europe as the opera’s setting entirely, choosing instead to set it in Boston!
The role that had been King Gustav III became 'Riccardo, the Governor of Boston'— a position that has never existed. So when the opera was brought to America, Directors found Boston problematic and set it back in Europe.
We don't have any problem setting it in Boston.
Originally written to tell the story of the 1792 assassination of King Gustav III of Sweden, political tensions in Italy and across Europe in 1859 forced Verdi to re-write the plot. He finally agreed to scrap Europe as the opera’s setting entirely, choosing instead to set it in Boston!
The role that had been King Gustav III became 'Riccardo, the Governor of Boston'— a position that has never existed. So when the opera was brought to America, Directors found Boston problematic and set it back in Europe.
We don't have any problem setting it in Boston.
