Un Ballo in Maschera

Un ballo in maschera (A Masked Ball), is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi with text by Antonio Somma. The libretto is loosely based on an 1833 play, Gustave III, by French playwright Eugene Scribe who wrote about the historical assassination of King Gustav III of Sweden. The subject was well known and had been used by other composers, including Daniel Auber, for his 1833 opera, Gustave III, ou Le bal masque and later by Saverio Mercadante for his Il reggente in 1843.

In 1792, the King of Sweden, Gustav III, was killed, the result of a political conspiracy against him. He was shot while attending a masked ball and died 13 days later from his wounds. For the libretto, Scribe retained the names of some of the historical figures involved, the conspiracy, and the killing at the masked ball. The rest of the play – the characterizations, the romance, the fortune-telling, etc. – is Scribe’s invention and the opera is not historically accurate.

Director: Davide Livermore, Alessandra Premoli


Orchestral Director: Giacomo Sagripanti


Set Design: Giò Forma


Costumes: Mariana Fracasso


Lights: Antonio Castro


Video: D-Wok