Organization

Conductor

Enrique Barrios

Stage director

Plamen Kartalov

Set designer

Ivo Knezović

Costume designer

Elena Ivanova

Choreographer

Peter Lukanov

Assistant Director

Vera Beleva

Julia Krasteva

Chorus master

Violeta Dimitrova

Translator

Simeon Todorov

CO-REPETITEUR

Yolanta Smolyanova

Singer

Tenor

Daniel Damyanov

Richard

Baritone

Ventseslav Anastasov

Renato

Soprano

Radostina Nikolaeva

Amelia

Contralto

Vesela Yaneva

Ulrica

Bass

Anton Radev

Silvano

Angel Hristov

Samuel

Dimitar Stanchev

Angel Antonov

A judge

Slavi Manov

A servant of Amelia

Maria Pavlova

Oscar

Sofia Opera & Ballet

Italian

Un ballo in maschera -  (A Masked Ball)

Sofia

Bulgaria

Un ballo in maschera Verdi

Public

A Masked Ball

Bulgarian

English

Approved

The assassination of King Gustav III of Sweden during a ball in 1792 is a historic event that serves as the subject of dramatic and operatic works. The opera "Gustav III" or "Un Ballo in Maschera" ("A Masked Ball") by D.F. Auber written on the play of the same name by E. Scribe is among the famous works on this topic. Scribe's drama and the libretto based on it serve as the plot of Verdi's opera.

None of the Maestro's works has undergone such censorship as "Un Ballo in Maschera" (originally titled "Una vendetta in domino" ("Revenge of the Dominoes"). The Austrian censorship has strictly banned the presentation of the scene of the murder of a crowned person. The ban was dictated by a recent political event – in 1858 the Italian Count Felice Orsini assassinated Napoleon III for his betrayal of Italy. Verdi was asked to transfer the action to Florence in the Middle Ages, and the king to become an ordinary nobleman. Verdi refused, despite being threatened with a penalty claim by the theatre impresario. A year later, the censorship ban was lifted. But Verdi still had to make some concessions. The assassination of a British governor in North America could not provoke undesirable associations. Thus,King Gustav III became Richard Warwick, Governor of Boston, and his assassin, Officer Ancarstrem, was named Renato. Accordingly, the other characters also received English names. Reluctantly, Verdi made these changes just to save the opera.

"Un Ballo in Maschera" belongs to the top creative achievements of the Maestro, in which word and music, music and action are inextricably linked. Psychological conflicts are depicted with Shakespearean power, while power and drama are combined with the most precise details of the mental states of the characters.

Verdi masterfully uses the method of contrast – sinister images during festive merriment, tender lyrics during a mysterious and gloomy scene. "Un Ballo in Maschera" features rich and expressive vocal parts, brilliant orchestra, masterfully constructed ensembles. The finale of Scene 2 of Act I is among the peaks of the musical dramaturgy of the opera. No love duet in all of Verdi's work can compare to the duet of Riccardo and Amelia in the second act. In a letter to Antonio Soma, Verdi explained that it was in this scene that he has put the whole "mess" of passion. Love is in fact the main theme of this opera, called by the famous Italian critic Massimo Mila Verdi's "Tristan and Isolde", but translated into Italian and transferred under the hot and passionate sun.

"Un Ballo in Maschera" had enormous and well-deserved success in its first performance – Rome, Apollo Theatre, on 17 February 1859. Very soon under the name "Amelia" the opera was staged in other theatres in Italy, and then in Paris, Berlin and other West European capitals.

The first Bulgarian premiere of "Un Ballo in Maschera" was on the stage of the Sofia Opera on 22 October 1926 under the baton of V. Bobchevski and directed by Il. Arnaudov. The last production of "Un Ballo in Maschera" at the National Opera and Ballet is from the 1992-93 season with conductor Boris Hinchev and stage director Emil Boshnakov.

A Masked Ball by Verdi, From (2022/2022), Directed by Plamen Kartalov,, Conductor Enrique Barrios

Performance credits (Cast & Crew )

Cast

Crew

Program, About & Synopsis

Photos

Further reading

Performance Dates & Venues

Venues