Az álarcosbál
Giuseppe Verdi
Opera in three acts, in Italian, with Hungarian, English and Italian subtitles
Schedule
The theme of the work sparked Verdi's most vicious battle with the censors in Naples and then Rome. The original libretto was based on a real-life historical event of a Swedish regicide in 1792, but this proved too sensitive for the political climate of the time, so they tried to please the censors by turning the king into a count and moving the action from Europe to the British American colonies. The Roman censors allowed the play to be staged, with a few minor changes, and if you peel away the layers of political murder from the plot, a love story emerges: the real stakes, besides political discontent, are a marriage in need of saving, with the visceral emotions of unrequited love and blind jealousy pulling the strings behind the scenes.
The masked ball is presented in the Opera repertoire as the story of King Gustav III of Sweden, as the author originally intended, and as interpreted by the young competition-winning Italian director Fabio Ceresa.
SOURCES
Composer: Giuseppe Verdi
Giuseppe Verdi, composer of the libretto based on the work by Eugène Scribe: Antonio Somma
Director: Fabio Ceresa
Set designer: Tiziano Santi
Costume designer: Giuseppe Palella
Movement Designer: Mattia Agatiello
Lighting designer: Ferenc Stadler
Dramaturg, Hungarian subtitles by Eszter Orbán
English subtitles by Arthur Roger Crane
Choir director: Gábor Csiki
Hungarian State Opera
The Hungarian State Opera House is the only theatre in Hungary with a large company, specialising in operas and ballets. The building is one of Budapest's most important 19th century monuments. It was built in neo-Renaissance style according to the plans of Miklós Ybl. The richly decorated interior was designed by renowned Hungarian artists, including Mór Than, Károly Lotz and Bertalan Székely.