Organization

Singer

Soprano

Tatiana Serjan

Amelia

Contralto

Yvonne Naef

Ulrica

Sen Guo

Oscar

Tenor

Ramón Vargas

Richard

Baritone

Alexey Markov

Renato

Bass

Elliot Madore

Silvano

Erik Anstine

Samuel

Dimitri Pkhaladze

Dmitry Ivanchey

A judge

Ján Rusko

A servant of Amelia

Conductor

Nello Santi

Stage director

David Pountney

Set designer

Raimund Bauer

Costume designer

Marie-Jeanne Lecca

Lighting designer

Jürgen Hoffmann

Choreographer

Beate Vollack

Chorus master

Jürg Hämmerli

Opernhaus Zürich

Others

Chor der Oper Zürich

Orchestra

Philharmonia Zürich

Zusatzchor der Oper Zürich

Italian

Un ballo in maschera -  (A Masked Ball)

Zurich

Switzerland

Opernhaus

Un ballo in maschera Verdi

Public

A Masked Ball

German

English

Approved

Un ballo in maschera
After his successful triad of Rigoletto , Il trovatore and La traviataGiuseppe Verdi chose historical material for his next opera: the assassination of the Swedish king Gustav III. at a masked ball in 1792. The historical event becomes the tragic love story between Gustavo and Amelia, the wife of his best friend. It ends with the king being killed by Amelia's jealous husband, Renato Anckarstroem, just as he has renounced forbidden love. Not only the circumstances of the murder at the eponymous masked ball, but also characters such as the fortune teller Ulrica or the page Oscar make the opera a dazzling piece in which the tragic basic conflict is repeatedly overlaid with absurd comedy and operetta-like lightness.

The British director David Pountney, known for his black humor, staged Un ballo in maschera as a deadly game within a game: Gustavo seems to have confused world politics with a gigantic theatrical performance, whereby he increasingly loses control of the direction. At the revival, the globally successful tenor Marcelo Álvarez will play the Swedish monarch. The opera house debut of the American soprano Sondra Radvanovsky as Amelia is also eagerly awaited, while Marie-Nicole Lemieux makes her debut in Zurich as Ulrica. General Music Director Fabio Luisi conducts the Philharmonia.

Deutsch

After his successful triad of Rigoletto , Il trovatore and La traviataGiuseppe Verdi chose historical material for his next opera: the assassination of the Swedish king Gustav III. at a masked ball in 1792. The historical event becomes the tragic love story between Gustavo and Amelia, the wife of his best friend. It ends with the king being killed by Amelia's jealous husband, Renato Anckarstroem, just as he has renounced forbidden love. Not only the circumstances of the murder at the eponymous masked ball, but also characters such as the fortune teller Ulrica or the page Oscar make the opera a dazzling piece in which the tragic basic conflict is repeatedly overlaid with absurd comedy and operetta-like lightness.

The British director David Pountney, known for his black humor, staged Un ballo in maschera as a deadly game within a game: Gustavo seems to have confused world politics with a gigantic theatrical performance, whereby he increasingly loses control of the direction. At the revival, the globally successful tenor Marcelo Álvarez will play the Swedish monarch. The opera house debut of the American soprano Sondra Radvanovsky as Amelia is also eagerly awaited, while Marie-Nicole Lemieux makes her debut in Zurich as Ulrica. General Music Director Fabio Luisi conducts the Philharmonia.

A Masked Ball by Verdi, From (2012/2012), Directed by David Pountney,, Conductor Nello Santi, Opernhaus, Zurich, Switzerland

Performance credits (Cast & Crew )

Cast

Crew

Ensemble

Programme, About & Synopsis

Photos

Further reading

Performance Dates & Venues

Venues