What is Un ballo in maschera?
{{nofootnotes|date=March 2012}} {{italictitle}} '''''Un ballo in maschera''''' (A Masked Ball) is an [[Italy|Italian]] [[opera]] in three acts. The music was written by [[Giuseppe Verdi]]. The [[libretto]] was written by Antonio Somma. It is based on Eugène Scribe's ''Gustave III ou Le Bal Masqué''. The opera was first performed at the Teatro Appollo in [[Rome]], on February 17, 1859. One of Verdi's richest middle-period works, it relates the events surrounding the assassination of King Gustav III of [[Sweden]], but because of [[censorship]], the story was transposed to 17th century [[Boston]], with Gustav becoming an English governor, Richard of Warwick. Nowadays, most productions present the opera in its original Swedish setting. ==Principal characters== * Gustavo/Riccardo, King of Sweden in love with Amelia- [[tenor]] * Amelia, a courtier - [[soprano]] * Renato, a courtier and Amelia's husband - [[baritone]] * Ulrica, a fortune teller - [[mezzo-soprano]] * Oscar, a page - soprano * Samuel, conspirator - [[bass (vocal range)|bass]] * Tom, conspirator - bass * Silvano, conspirator - baritone ==Sources== * ''The Complete Dictionary of Opera & Operetta'', James Anderson, Wings Books, 1993. {{DEFAULTSORT:Ballo in maschera, Un}} [[Category:Compositions by Giuseppe Verdi]] [[Category:1850s operas]] {{performing-arts-stub}}