I went into Un Ballo in Maschera completely ignorant about this opera except for the fact it was by Verdi. It is the first opera of the season and I am going to try to motivate myself to go to all or nearly of the operas on in the Teatro Real this season, especially as I am fortunate enough to be applicable for the last minute discount.
The story is standard opera - love triangles, plotting, death, passionate declarations of love etc. All very Verdi. It is set in Boston (I believe originally the setting was 18th Century but the production was done in the 19th century).
The opera opens with a very simple set, almost minimalistic with just lush fabric and paintings as backdrop amidst a fancy chorus of men in period dress. The music is full, intense and wonderfully sung. It immediately throws you into the opera which has a style bordering on Opera Comique style. The tenor playing Count Riccardo is singing amazingly well from the start, bold, clear and full of emotion. The baritone cast as Renato is a little bit quiet and overshadowed by the tenor accompanying him on stage but he really comes into full force as the opera continues and significantly improves.
The next scene is designed almost modernist style with an industrial style fence and wiring that looks almost like a modern, urban scene yet filled with people in period clothing. This is the den of the witch Ulrica, whom the Count goes to see in disguise. He sees his beloved Amelia - wife to his best friend and secretary Renato, declare her love for him to the witch here. The scene is accompanied with other predictions of the count's death and the good fortune of other men. This scene is very animated and goes through a roller-coaster of emotions from happiness to melancholie to high tension. The mezzo -soprano who plays the witch steals the scene most definitely here and has a great stage presence.
We pause for 20 minutes and resume with an act which is almost as long as the interval, but seeing the spectacularly constructed set of a ruined fort filled with rubble and almost realistic I can see why the need for an interval was required. This scene pulls together the rest of the opera. The lovers meet in secret and declare their love in a passionate and beautiful duet, the plot to kill the count thickens, and Renato discovers his wife's infidelity to the count and turns on him. This scene is executed with tension as well as some comic relief from the chorus with their lyrical laughing.
The final act opens with a very simple set of a study where the plot to kill the count is being planned. Renato and his conspirators discuss the plan for the murder which is over heard by Amelia, and she is forced to chose the name from the urn as to who will kill him. This scene out of the others comes across as the most bland, as it does not have the air of dramaticsim that the others have, but it builds up to a feeling of strong tension and release in an instant.
The act continues with a beautiful aria from the tenor in a hall of mirrors which reflects the whole opera house back at you. This was executed flawlessly by the tenor that even got a huge rise out of the audience when he finished.
The mirror tilts to reveal the lower galleries and gives you the illusion that you are in a manor house where the ball is taken place. The stage is filled with the chorus dressed in fine gowns and masks. It is a visual and aural feast on the viewer as the reflection to the lower gallery to dancers and musicians is distracting from the rest of the acts on the stage and you don't know where to look! The opera reaches its intense climax which is the death of the count. Verdi certainly has a very good way of expressing drama and tension in his music and he certainly manages this in this final scene. Although the count trying to rise as if he was OK made me think of Violetta's death scene in La Traviata a bit as well as Monty Python's "I'm getting better!" but I think this is a personal amusement to me.
Un ballo in Maschera was definitely a visually stunning and entertaining opera to watch. The singers were good, and some were exceptional. Definitely very entertaining and worth going to see if you can. However it was not the most memorable opera production I have seen but this may have to do with my personal musical preferences and having been spoilt by seeing Les Arts Florissants production of L'Orfeo the last time I went to the opera. Un Ballo in Maschera is not an opera where you will go away humming the aria to yourself, and for the opera virgin it is not the one I would recommend first. But saying that it is a good show and if you have a love for Verdi or Opera Comique style opera, or general dramaticism then do go along and check it out.
Dates:9,10,12,13,15,16,18,19 of October
Location: Teatro Real, Plaza Oriente
Transport:Metro line 5,line 2, R (Opera) or line 1, line 3(Sol)
Prices:Without discount (16€-151€) ages 26 or under at last minute tickets get 90% off!
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