Un Ballo in Maschera at the Bolshoi Theatre

In March, Maestro Wilson returns to the Bolshoi, where she is a frequent guest, to conduct performances of Verdi’s Un Ballo in Maschera. The cast includes Anna Nechaeva (Amelia), Vladimir Stoyanov (Renato), Oleg Dolgov (Richard), Elena Manistina (Ulrica), and Anna Aglatova (Oscar).

Bucking recent tradition, this striking production of Ballo, directed by Davide Livermore, sets the action back in America, which is where Verdi was forced to place it to satisfy his censors. Verdi had intended the libretto to take place in late 18th century Sweden, inspired by the true story of the political assassination of King Gustav at a masked ball, but the story was considered too volatile for the unstable Europe of the 1850’s. So, much to his dismay, Verdi moved the action far away to Colonial Boston.

In 2014, Ms. Wilson had the honor of conducting Ballo at the Royal Swedish Opera, with the plot returned to its Swedish roots. For a verisimilitude reference check, Ms. Wilson visited the museum where King Gustav’s bullet riddled clothing was on display, along with the gun that had been used to shoot him.

Performances at the Bolshoi Opera: March 17, 18, 19, 20, 21

For more details, please visit this link.