The Met Opera premieres a new production of Verdi's Un Ballo in Maschera on Thursday night.
Director David Alden has stated that his intentions with the new Ballo were to emphasize the work's variety in tone and color. The opera is a tragedy like most Verdi operas, but it also has a number of comic moments and characters including Oscar - a young boy sung by a soprano.
The production is a minimalist set with a massive painting portraying the fall of Icarus similar to how Gustavo, the work's protagonist, winds up dead for trying to seduce his best friend's wife.
Playing the role of Gustavo is Argentine tenor Marcelo Alvarez. He was last seen a year ago singing the role of Radames in Verdi's Aida. He also sang in a new production of Puccini's Tosca and most recently premiered a new production of Verdi's Il Trovatore in 2009.
Playing the object of his affection is Sondra Radvanovsky. She will play her first Amelia at the Met and has also starred alongside Alvarez in the recent Trovatore and Tosca.
Dmitri Hvorostovsky sings Renato, the husband of Amelia and best friend of King Gustavo. He was recently seen in Verdi's La Traviata, Ernani, Il Trovatore, and the title role in Simon Boccanegra. He is one of the renowned Verdi Baritones in the world and will sing his second run of Un Ballo in Maschera this season.
Rounding out the cast will be Kathleen Kim as Oscar and Dolora Zajick as the fortuneteller Ulrica.
The opera will be conducted by Fabio Luisi and will run for ten performances until December 14th. On December 8, the opera will be recorded and transmitted live in HD across movie theaters around the world. Amber Wagner will replace Radvanovsky in the final performance of the run.
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