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| top Act III: Gustavo and Amelia exchange a last farewell, during the duettino at the masked ball, in the moments before the King is assassinated by Amelia's husband. [soprano Jeanne-Michèle Charbonnet and tenor Richard Leech]
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| second row
- right Maestro Edoardo Müller in the rehearsal hall. He is one of the finest conductors in the world of the romantic Italian repertoire: passionate and intense, sure and certain of his shaping of both the voice and the orchestra. He is also a superb collaborator, always available to the artists for discussion about phrasing, breathing, Italian diction, and musical interpretation. |
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| first row in block - left Oscar, the King's page, entertains the court with the aria Volta la terrea, an elaborate description of the powers of the prophetess, Ulrica. [soprano Elisabeth Comeaux in the trousers role of Oscar] |
first row in block - right From the wings - Gustavo is revealed as the King in the l'Oracolo Scene - the conspirators lurk in the background here, as they did throughout the opera. |
| second row in block - left Amelia in the Gallows Scene, exhilarated by her forbidden love for the Gustavo. [soprano Jeanne-Michèle Charbonnet] |
second row in block - right Gustavo, Act I.ii., the end of the court scenes, enjoining the courtiers to visit the prophetess. [tenor Richard Leech] |
| third row in block - left Amelia and Gustavo confess their love for each other in a high-voltage love duet. [soprano Jeanne-Michèle Charbonnet and tenor Richard Leech] |
third row in block - right Ulrica [or Mam'zelle Arvidson in The Swedish Version] conjures up visions of the future. (mezzo Barbara Dever] |
| last row in block - left Renato in the Gallows Scene. He is loyal to the King, but when he is betrayed, he will turn to assassination - in the next act, he sings the classic Verdi baritone aria, Eri tu.. [baritone Mark Rucker] |
last row in block - right Amelia waits for the lot to be drawn, determining which of the conspirators will assassinate her lover, the King. [soprano Jeanne-Michèle Charbonnet and bass baritone David Downing] |
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| bottom Act III curtain: Death of the King. The onstage depiction of the assassination of a living King caused such problems with the theatrical censors in Italy 150 years ago that Verdi was forced to change the setting to Revolutionary War America, where the King became the Governor of Boston. But in the late 20th century, it became fashionable to restore the setting as Verdi originally conceived it, as there is a huge difference between an appointed government official and a divinely annointed monarch. [tenor Richard Leech with soprano Elisabeth Comeaux] |
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REHEARSAL WITH THE CHOREOGRAPHER Jeanne-Michèle Charbonnet and Richard Leech work on the Act III minuet with Maxine Mahon.
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| The choreographer, in
consultation with the stage director, has in mind a particular form and structure that the
dance needs to maintain, both for dramatic purposes and to be true to the opera's
historical period and customs of the society being portrayed. There are also concerns about the singers being able to see the conductor, not turning or walking upstage when one was singing, and when to have the masks in front of the face or to lower them. All these elements must blend together, integrated effortlessly into the performance. |
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| TOP OF PAGE | |
| San Diego Opera presents | ||
| A MASKED BALL by Giuseppe Verdi | ||
| May 1999 | ||
| Conductor | Edoardo Müller | |
| Director | Michael Hampe | |
| Set Design | Michael Hampe | |
| Costume Design | Mauro Pagano | |
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| Oscar | Elisabeth Comeaux | |
| Gustavo, King of Sweden (Riccardo) | Richard Leech | |
| Anackerström (Renato) | Mark B. Rucker | |
| Amelia | Jeanne-Michèle Charbonnet | |
| Mam'zelle Arvidson (Ulrica) | Barbara Dever | |
| Christano (Silvano) | James Scott Sikon | |
| Count Ribbing (Sam) | David Downing | |
| Count Horn (Tom) | Alexander Anisimov | |
| EXPLORE MORE | ||
EXPLORE |
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| Opera Basics - An Introduction The Opera Project - What's It All About? Explore More: Top 10 Ways to Fall in Love With Opera Principal Singers
& Singing WORDS
& MUSIC SHOP |
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