# Un ballo in maschera



## Clouds Weep Snowflakes (Feb 24, 2019)

Any opinion(s) on this Opera by Verdi? Me and my mother watched it last month, and we enjoyed it very much-totally worth our money!


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## nina foresti (Mar 11, 2014)

A wonderful opera with many beautiful arias. This is the opera where Marian Anderson made her debut as Ulrica the fortune teller.
Ever time I hear "Eri tu" I picture Dmtri Hvorostovsky with "una furtive lagrima" at his passing.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

A personal favorite among Verdi's "dark" operas. Ulrica's music is wonderfully spooky, and the love duet has an almost Tristanesque rapture. I too love "Eri tu," but always identify it with Pasquale Amato, whose 1914 recording is a paragon of tonal control, expressive imagination, and Verdian style, the like of which we are unlikely to hear again:


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## Diminuendo (May 5, 2015)

A fabulous opera with great music. The love duet is one of my favorites, especially when Callas and Di Stefano sing it live or in studio. I think Woodduck captured it with the word rapture. The level of emotion that the duet has when it's sang well and great arias for all singers in this opera. I'm very fond of Eri tu and all singers bring something different to it. I have a soft spot for Gobbi in this aria. It's so great that we have recordings from singers from the days of Caruso to today, so plenty to choose from. It's fantastic to be able to listen to these singers that are simply from a different era and tradition. Sometimes it feels that the "great schooling" just withers away with every generation. When you listen to someone like Pasquale Amato you evitably start thinking that we don't have anything like this today.

Here is Callas and Di Stefano singing the love duet live from La Scala in 1957:


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## Sieglinde (Oct 25, 2009)

I love it a lot. The music is really beautiful, and Gustavo is one of the rare tenors who have character development.

I just wish Renato didn't do the Standard Baritone Overreaction. Everyone involved in that love triangle loves the other two. Just have a poly deal!


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## Meyerbeer Smith (Mar 25, 2016)

It's one of Verdi's five best, up there with _Don Carlos_, _Aida_, _Otello_, and _Rigoletto_.

The opera is one of Verdi's cleverest, tightest-plotted works. He had the advantage of a libretto by Eugène Scribe, master of the well-made play. Don't neglect the original, though: Auber's _Gustave III_ (with libretto by Scribe) is great.

Somma's libretto amounts to an Italian translation of Scribe's, its five acts compressed to three, with modifications. He omits the politics of the French opera - understandably, given that problems with the censors forced the story to be transplanted to New England.

Verdi, though, like other Italian composers, was more interested in the characters' emotions and relationships than in the historical background. He wanted a taut, swiftly moving drama, with divertissements kept to a minimum. Thus, the masked ball becomes a background to the murder, rather than a 25-minute ballet, a spectacular end in itself (as it is in Auber).

_Ballo _is in some ways a spiritual successor to Rigoletto. Both are about a capricious tenor nobleman (originally a king), who disguises himself as a commoner, and holds masked balls. He tries to seduce his baritone crony's woman; the baritone then tries to kill him.

Both are tragedies of errors, with plot twists like a comedy. The death of Gilda in the sack is a bitterly ironic punchline, while _Ballo _turns upon husband escorting his veiled wife.

"It's a joke, or madness," Gustavo says when he hears Ulrica's prophecy - an ambiguous line that can be read as insouciance / scepticism, or a shaken man trying to pass it off as a joke. The conspirators tell Renato he's joking when he wants to join the conspiracy. The assassins sing that the tragedy has turned into comedy when Amelia is revaeled to her husband - but it's no laughing matter for them. And, of course, Renato himself is (partly) mistaken when he believes that the two met at the hangman's field for a midnight tryst; Amelia only went there to get the herb to cure her love.

The score reveals an unexpected comic side to Verdi. The humour in _Rigoletto _is black and sardonic; "gaiety", as Charles Osborne (The Operas of Verdi, 1969) writes, "did not come easily to him". (Jean-Pierre Ponnelle is right, though, to stage _Rigoletto _as a parody of Rossini's comic opera _The Barber of Seville_.)

_Ballo _has a wit and effervescence unusual for Verdi; it sparkles. The score is full of scampering rhythms and triplets, and the delicate instrumentation is astonishing in the composer of _Attila_. It sounds, often, rather French.

"Ogni cura" has all the high-kicking gusto of an Offenbach galop. The score is Verdi at his most inventive: the staccato, almost whispered Act II trio; the same act's quartetto finale, with its chorus of mocking laughter; and the dazzling Act III quintet. They are structurally, but not melodically, similar to Auber's.

The love duet - one of Verdi's best - shows the influence of the great, epoch-defining one in _Les Huguenots_. (Listen from "Ebben, si, t'amo!") Oscar, descendant of Urbain (Huguenots) as much as Auber's Oscar, straddles the two worlds of opéra-comique and grand opera, as his prototype does in Meyerbeer.

Verdi remains, however, his own man; he assimilates, but is not absorbed. His experience in Paris - _Jérusalem _(1847), _Les vêpres siciliennes _(1855) - gave him a new vocabulary, a refinement of orchestration and palette which will flourish in his two great grand operas _Don Carlos _and _Aida_, if not _Otello_.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

^^^ An interesting post that leaves me wondering: what do you have against _Falstaff_ and _Traviata?_


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## howlingfantods (Jul 27, 2015)

Woodduck said:


> ^^^ An interesting post that leaves me wondering: what do you have against _Falstaff_ and _Traviata?_


I'm with shatterhands--I'dactually put Ballo 6th or 7th behind Trovatore, and pretty much tied with Forza depending on my mood. Traviata and Falstaff behind all three. I think Falstaff is only really fun to watch, not so much to listen to audio only, and outside of Violetta and Germont's duet, Di Provenza and Addio del passato, I don't generally find Traviata that interesting. Perhaps it's a victim of it's own success--the hooker with a heart of gold is such a cliché by now, but I'm sure Traviata was more compelling before it became such a cliché.

Ballo is wonderful--one of the most fun and lively of Verdi's non-comedies. I think the main thing that keeps it just out of the top is (1) the silliness of the story; (2) the very unsympathetic main character; (3) the love story is a dud; (4) most of the best music is in the middle -- you can listen from Act 2 through Act 3 Scene 1 and hear almost all the essentials--Ma dall'rido stelo divulsa, Teco io sto, the ensemble with Amelia, Renato, Sam and Tom, Morro, ma prima in grazia, Eri tu. The relative lack of inspiration for the music of the start and the end leaves audiences with a somewhat diminished impression than if the best material was closer to the ends, I think.


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

howlingfantods said:


> I think Falstaff is only really fun to watch, not so much to listen to audio only,


I'm completely the opposite. I find Falstaff musically more interesting every time I hear it. Like many great works of art, ot doesn't give up its marvels easily, but once you've tapped in, the level of inspiration and invention is absolutely incredible.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

howlingfantods said:


> I'm with shatterhands--I'dactually put Ballo 6th or 7th behind Trovatore, and pretty much tied with Forza depending on my mood. Traviata and Falstaff behind all three. I think Falstaff is only really fun to watch, not so much to listen to audio only, and outside of Violetta and Germont's duet, Di Provenza and Addio del passato, I don't generally find Traviata that interesting. Perhaps it's a victim of it's own success--the hooker with a heart of gold is such a cliché by now, but I'm sure Traviata was more compelling before it became such a cliché.
> 
> Ballo is wonderful--one of the most fun and lively of Verdi's non-comedies. I think the main thing that keeps it just out of the top is (1) the silliness of the story; (2) the very unsympathetic main character; (3) the love story is a dud; (4) most of the best music is in the middle -- you can listen from Act 2 through Act 3 Scene 1 and hear almost all the essentials--Ma dall'rido stelo divulsa, Teco io sto, the ensemble with Amelia, Renato, Sam and Tom, Morro, ma prima in grazia, Eri tu. The relative lack of inspiration for the music of the start and the end leaves audiences with a somewhat diminished impression than if the best material was closer to the ends, I think.


Actually you aren't with Shatterhands, who puts _Ballo_ in Verdi's top 5, above _Trovatore,_ _Traviata_ and _Falstaff._

I don't think it's mere sentimentality that's made _Traviata_ one of the most popular of operas. It has never occurred to me that its story is a cliche. As a characterization, Violetta is superior to Verdi's other sad heroines, most of whom strike me as virtually interchangeable (Leonora who?). The score has a beautifully realized warmth, delicacy, and romantic flavor that make it unique, and as many good tunes as any of Verdi's operas. _Forza?_ As a unified, distinctive work of art? Not even close.

I'm with GregMitchell on _Falstaff,_ though I agree that it's even better if you're watching it (which I've done once). It gives me more musical pleasure than Mozart's comedies, which I really need to see to enjoy (and now I must don my coat of mail as hammeredklavier sniffs out this post and comes charging in to defend the defenseless Wolfie).


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## howlingfantods (Jul 27, 2015)

Woodduck said:


> Actually you aren't with Shatterhands, who puts _Ballo_ in Verdi's top 5, above _Trovatore,_ _Traviata_ and _Falstaff._
> 
> I don't think it's mere sentimentality that's made _Traviata_ one of the most popular of operas. It has never occurred to me that its story is a cliche. As a characterization, Violetta is superior to Verdi's other sad heroines, most of whom strike me as virtually interchangeable (Leonora who?). The score has a beautifully realized warmth, delicacy, and romantic flavor that make it unique, and as many good tunes as any of Verdi's operas. _Forza?_ As a unified, distinctive work of art? Not even close.
> 
> I'm with GregMitchell on _Falstaff,_ though I agree that it's even better if you're watching it (which I've done once). It gives me more musical pleasure than Mozart's comedies, which I really need to see to enjoy (and now I must don my coat of mail as hammeredklavier sniffs out this post and comes charging in to defend the defenseless Wolfie).


I probably prefer Falstaff to Mozart's comedies too. I just don't prefer it to several of Verdi's other operas. I may even prefer Macbeth, come to think of it.

Forza is an odd one--I think it contains some of the best music Verdi composed, but it's also packed with some of the worst music Verdi composed. I think if Verdi had cut out 45 minutes to an hour, trimming all the Trabuco, Melitone, and most of the Preziosilla business, the remaining 2 hour work focused purely on the main trio would stand with his very best operas. For someone who could reasonably be called an atheist, Verdi did some of his best composing in religious settings with religious themes, and Forza is the best operatic example of that.

edited to add--I don't think I ascribe Traviata fandom to sentimentality. Did I unintentionally describe it so? As with most things relating to taste, if yours disagree with mine, it doesn't bother me, and I don't ascribe any negative qualities to you based on your tastes being different.


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## DavidA (Dec 14, 2012)

howlingfantods said:


> *I probably prefer Falstaff to Mozart's comedies too.* I just don't prefer it to several of Verdi's other operas. I may even prefer Macbeth, come to think of it.
> 
> Forza is an odd one--I think it contains some of the best music Verdi composed, but it's also packed with some of the worst music Verdi composed. I think if Verdi had cut out 45 minutes to an hour, trimming all the Trabuco, Melitone, and most of the Preziosilla business, the remaining 2 hour work focused purely on the main trio would stand with his very best operas. For someone who could reasonably be called an atheist, Verdi did some of his best composing in religious settings with religious themes, and Forza is the best operatic example of that.
> 
> edited to add--I don't think I ascribe Traviata fandom to sentimentality. Did I unintentionally describe it so? As with most things relating to taste, if yours disagree with mine, it doesn't bother me, and I don't ascribe any negative qualities to you based on your tastes being different.


To me Falstaff is the one opera after Mozart which rivals Mozart.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

howlingfantods said:


> I probably prefer Falstaff to Mozart's comedies too. I just don't prefer it to several of Verdi's other operas. I may even prefer Macbeth, come to think of it.
> 
> Forza is an odd one--I think it contains some of the best music Verdi composed, but it's also packed with some of the worst music Verdi composed. I think if Verdi had cut out 45 minutes to an hour, trimming all the Trabuco, Melitone, and most of the Preziosilla business, the remaining 2 hour work focused purely on the main trio would stand with his very best operas. For someone who could reasonably be called an atheist, Verdi did some of his best composing in religious settings with religious themes, and Forza is the best operatic example of that.
> 
> edited to add--I don't think I ascribe Traviata fandom to sentimentality. Did I unintentionally describe it so? As with most things relating to taste, if yours disagree with mine, it doesn't bother me, and I don't ascribe any negative qualities to you based on your tastes being different.


I do agree that _Forza_ is an odd mix of the superb and the mediocre. As a result it lacks that sense of being a fully realized and specific entity, that feel of "iconicity," that marks Verdi's greatest works, and even some lesser ones. Wagner achieved that with every opera after _Rienzi,_ Verdi most of the time beginning with the triad of _Rigoletto, Trovatore _and _Traviata._ I suppose, too, that I'm less drawn than you are to the gloomy religious stuff in his operas. It would probably make an atheist out of me if I weren't one already. :lol:


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## nina foresti (Mar 11, 2014)

Woodduck said:


> A personal favorite among Verdi's "dark" operas. Ulrica's music is wonderfully spooky, and the love duet has an almost Tristanesque rapture. I too love "Eri tu," but always identify it with Pasquale Amato, whose 1914 recording is a paragon of tonal control, expressive imagination, and Verdian style, the like of which we are unlikely to hear again:


Lest we forget the powerful Leonard Warren -- king of "Eri tu's".


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

nina foresti said:


> Lest we forget the powerful Leonard Warren -- king of "Eri tu's".


"Powerful" in the sense of big and loud...

Sad to say, Warren leaves me cold. He's tonally monotonous and rhythmically straightlaced. By and large, modern baritones ("modern" since WWII) have forgotten how to play with rhythm, shade dynamics, embellish the vocal line, and move between "covered" and "open" tone. Just compare Warren's musical dullness 



 with Amato's intensity and variety 



 or the suave bel canto of Battistini 



 or the fine mezza voce shading of De Luca 



 or even this interesting rendition in German (horrors!) by Joseph Schwarz 



 who I'd rather hear than any contemporary baritone I can think of singing in Italian.

In Verdi's day baritones were expected to do something with the notes besides sing them loudly on pitch.


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## Sloe (May 9, 2014)

Sieglinde said:


> I love it a lot. The music is really beautiful, and Gustavo is one of the rare tenors who have character development.
> 
> I just wish Renato didn't do the Standard Baritone Overreaction. Everyone involved in that love triangle loves the other two. Just have a poly deal!


Renato? You mean Holberg?


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## DavidA (Dec 14, 2012)

I have several version of this but I think the Karajan version is the only one that uses the original names of the characters


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## Sloe (May 9, 2014)

With Ragnar Ulfung who sung Gustav III at the first performance of the Lindegren version:


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## DarkAngel (Aug 11, 2010)

Woodduck said:


> "Powerful" in the sense of big and loud...
> 
> Sad to say, Warren leaves me cold. He's tonally monotonous and rhythmically straightlaced. By and large, modern baritones ("modern" since WWII) have forgotten how to play with rhythm, shade dynamics, embellish the vocal line, and move between "covered" and "open" tone. Just compare Warren's musical dullness
> 
> ...


I have to agree with Duck's observation about tonal shading, rythmic variation and skillfull bel canto delivery style of baritones pre-WW II, even the best of the vinyl LP era baritones like Gobbi and Bastianini despite obvious vocal talent sound almost vocally one dimensional by comparison, yet another singer unknown to me (Giuseppe Danise, husband of Bidu Sayao) inspired beautiful performance......

*



*


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

DarkAngel said:


> I have to agree with Duck's observation about tonal shading, rythmic variation and skillfull bel canto delivery style of baritones pre-WW II, even the best of the vinyl LP era baritones like Gobbi and Bastianini despite obvious vocal talent sound almost vocally one dimensional by comparison, yet another singer unknown to me (Giuseppe Danise, husband of Bidu Sayao) inspired beautiful performance......
> 
> *
> 
> ...


Wonderful style and technique. Thanks. These recordings are priceless. Note the creativity, the individuality of these singers. Now people sing everything "correctly," without personality, as if they're afraid of music.


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## DarkAngel (Aug 11, 2010)

^^^^ Yes Duck there is so much character and individual personality in the performance, I can listen to that same track many times and discover something new and wonderful each time, good thing youtube is available to give us historical perspective and discover great artists rarely heard now........


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