Un ballo in maschera

In masks and costumes, the characters in Verdi’s opera try to conceal their identities or to construct alternative ones. The powerholder Riccardo does so in order to avoid those plotting against him, his friend Renato to escape unrecognized, Renato’s wife Amelia to hide her love for Riccardo from her husband, the guests at the masked ball to enjoy playing with beautiful appearances. While working on this material, which had previously been set to music, Verdi and his librettist Antonio Somma found themselves forced to engage in a masquerade of their own. Again and again the libretto, originally set at the Swedish court, was criticized by the censors. Ultimately, Verdi was able to rescue the dramatic explosive power of the libretto by setting it in Boston creating moving choruses, touching arias and impressive ensembles was based on the foundation of the play’s characters. The diverse perspectives on identities are the focus of this production staged by Spanish director Rafael Villalobos: just like conductor Enrique Mazzola, this will be his first production at the Staatsoper.