Italian composer Giuseppe Verdi’s opera, A Masked Ball, at National Theatre was phenomenal! It was my first time seeing the opera, and it’s among the best performances I’ve attended! The cast, music, and staging were exceptional.
Belgrade National Theatre
The beautiful Belgrade theatre has a special ambience, and I love being there. I sat in a small ground floor side box with three locals. The performance was sold out, and observing the eclectic audience was almost as entertaining as the opera.
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“Giuseppe Verdi’s A Masked Ball (Un ballo in maschera) is a romantic tragedy that blends intense political intrigue, forbidden love, and comedic elements.”
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Libretto
The libretto for Verdi’s melodramatic masterpiece covers fate, love, hate, jealousy, forgiveness, revenge, and betrayal. His story was “inspired by the historical 1792 assassination of King Gustav III of Sweden at a costume ball“.
Before setting his story to music, Verdi had to “contend with Italian censors who were scandalized by the idea of representing a regicide on stage“. As state-appointed officials, censors “heavily scrutinize libretti for any signs of political sedition, immorality, and religious irreverence”.
For that reason, A Masked Ball was originally “set in the colonial American city of Boston“. The opera “focuses on an impossible love between Riccardo, the Earl of Warwick and Colonial Governor of Boston, and Amelia, the wife of his best friend, Renato, who takes revenge by killing him“.
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“Italian censors demanded Verdi’s opera be moved away from Europe. The American colonies were seen as a distant, ‘neutral setting,’ where such illicit love and political murder could be portrayed without directly insulting European royalty.”
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Cast and Orchestra
- Bojan Suđić Conductor
- Radio Television of Serbia (RTS) Symphony Orchestra and Choir
- Dejan Maksimović Tenor – Ricardo, Earl of Warwick & Colonial Governor of Boston
- Dragutin Matić Baritone – Renato, Ricardo’s Best Friend & Assassin
- Ivanka Krstonosic Raković Soprano – Oskar, Ricardo’s Page
- Sonja Šarić Soprano – Amelia, Renato’s Wife
- Siniša Radin Tenor – Amelia’s Servant
- Sanja Anastasia Mezzo-Soprano – Ulrica, Fortune Teller / Sorcerer
- Pavle Žarkov Baritone – Silvano, Ricardo’s Soldier
- Vuk Matic Bass – Samuel, Conspirator Against Ricardo
- Mihailo Šljivić Tenor – Tom, Conspirator Against Ricardo
- Siniša Radin Tenor – Judge
Three Acts
The opera melodrama is presented in three acts summarized in this link. Supertitles were shown in Serbian Cyrillic only. Scenes began in the Royal Palace and moved to the fortune-teller’s cave, hanging gallows outside the city where Amelia and Ricardo meet, and Renato’s study where Ricardo’s assassination is planned. The drama builds after the fortune teller predicts Ricardo’s death. The story ends during a masked ball at the Royal Opera House, where Amelia is unsuccessful at warning Ricardo of Renato’s plan to kill him. Before he dies, Ricardo forgives his enemies and tells Renato that Amelia is virtuous and “has in no way sullied the honor of her husband or family”. Renato expresses remorse for his brutal actions.
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“After Rigoletto and The Troubadour, Verdi became the best known, most appreciated opera composer in Italy.”
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The talented singers and orchestra gave impeccable performances! The audience was especially impressed by the captivating voices of soprano Sonja Šarić Kosovac who played Amelia, Renato’s Wife, and Baritone Dragutin Matic who played Renato, Amelia’s husband and Ricardo’s best friend, turned assassin.
It was a wonderful evening – BIG smile! During my stay in Belgrade, I’ll be attending more performances at the National Theatre!
