Opera Review: They Could Be Royals

Amore Opera throws Verdi's Masked Ball.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

A throne of games: Tenor José Heredia (center, prone) dies at the end of Un ballo in Maschera/
hoto by Ashley Becker © 2019 Amore Opera.

The Amore Opera ended its tenth season on Sunday afternoon with a performance of Un Ballo in Maschera. Of Verdi's mature operas, Ballo is unique. It is closer to French comic opera in style than anything else the composer wrote, even if it follows the musical conventions of Italian opera with only a sprinkling of French flavor in its score. The text is in Italian, and the musical style is late Verdi, with an almost-Wagnerian use of repeated themes attached to its characters. Although it has a tragic ending, there is am airy lightness to the music and the stage action, which frames a simple love triangle against a wrenching political assassination.

The Verdi Project: Un ballo in Maschera

Giuseppe Verdi versus the censors of Naples.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

Verdi (right) confronts an anonymous Neopolitan censor over the libretto to Un ballo in Maschera.
The original title Una vendetta in domino is visible. Image from 1857 by Delfico.

"Don't forget. I've got tickets for the opera tonight for Un ballo in maschera."
"Oh, stuff Un ballo in maschera!" -- John Mortimer

After the failure of the 1857 version of Simon Boccanegra, Verdi was looking for an easy success. He thought he had found it with Un Ballo in Maschera, a libretto by Antonio Somma that was itself an adaptation of an older libretto by Eugéne Scribe. Verdi had worked with that legendary (and well-named) Scribe on Les vepres sicillienes. The grand old man of the Paris Opera was the most successful librettist in Europe since Pietro Metastasio. What could go wrong?

Recordings Review: Dance 'Til He Drops

Claudio Abbado's classic Un Ballo in Maschera.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

The third in this survey of the La Scala Verdi recordings (and yes, it's wilfully out of order) is this excellent and mostly forgotten Un Ballo in Maschera, conducted with flair by the late Claudio Abbado.
Like Abbado's Aida (which was made around the same time with a lot of the same players) this Ballo was made at the very end of the analogue recording era, made in 1981 on the eve of the launch of the compact disc. And the warm, glowing sound of the violins and voices makes one regret all the problems that hit the recording industry because of that transition.

Metropolitan Opera Preview: Un Ballo in Maschera

The Verdi drama returns with James Levine on the podium.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

Ball to the wall: Sondra Radvanovsky in Un Ballo in Maschera. 
Photo by Ken Howard © 2012 The Metropolitan Opera.

This 2012 production re-imagined the opera as a 20th century film noir. It opened to mixed reviews although Sondra Radvanovsky and Dmitri Hvorostovsky burned up the stage as the married Count Änckarström and his wife Ameila, the object of the King's affections. Here, Piotr Beczala in the key role of King Gustavo should inject life into the proceedings. Met music director James Levine conducts.

Opera Review: A Dream about the King of Sweden

The Met's new Un Ballo in Maschera.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

Nightmare and dreamscape: Marcelo Àlvarez and Sondra Radvanovsky duet in Un Ballo in Maschera.
Photo by Ken Howard © 2012 The Metropolitan Opera.

The Metropolitan Opera's new David Alden production of Verdi's Un Ballo in Maschera draws inspiration from the films of Ingmar Bergman. This surreal show plays out the libretto's love triangle as a series of vivid dreams. Which begs the question: if the masked ball is only a dream, does the assassination actually take place?

The show-curtain and backdrop for most of the action is a huge, Raphaelite painting of Icarus falling from the sky. Acts I and II open with a main character (first Gustavo, then Amelia) asleep in an armchair--the action playing out as a dream of each character. In the final act, the show evolves into a consensual hallucination. The masked ball seems equally inspired by J.K. Rowling and The Seventh Seal, as death avatars (in formal wear with black wings and skull masks) skulk through the dancing, anticipating the opera's grim climax.

Given the singers playing the three legs of Verdi's love triangle (as heard on Monday night) it may not actually matter. Marcelo Àlvarez sang King Gustavo. The Argentinian tenor responded well to the spotlight, in a role that lay comfortably for his voice. In the early acts, he sounded relaxed and genial, with smoother tone than in years past. Signs of wear were apparent by the Act III Study Scene (one of the toughest parts of the score), but he sang the finale beautifully.

Karita Mattila Drops the Ball

The Finnish diva cancels Verdi.
by Paul Pelkonen

Before TV and the Internet, this is what we'd sit around and watch when there was no opera.
Wood-burning stove courtesy of Fireplace Village.  

In the sport of baseball, the "hot stove league" is used to describe the sport's off-season, when fans would gather around said heating device in the depths of winter to discuss the personnel changes made by their favorite teams. Now, as the Met opera's off-season is from mid-May to late September (making stoves impractical) maybe we need a new phrase? "Dormant air conditioner?"

The Metropolitan Opera's 2011-2012 has been closed for five days now, and roster changes are already being made, affecting next season's slate of Verdi productions. According to a report on Parterre Box, Finnish soprano Karita Mattila has announced her withdrawal from the company's upcoming David Alden production of Verdi's Un Ballo in Maschera. Ms. Mattila was scheduled to sing Amelia, the love interest of King Gustavo of Sweden (Marcélo Àlvarez).