A Masked Ball (Un ballo in maschera) by ... - Opera Australia

OPERA AUSTRALIA MEDIA RELEASE – MELBOURNE AUTUMN SEASON 2013
*New Production*
*World Première Season*
Spain’s avant‐garde of the performing arts, La Fura dels Baus,
direct and design
A Masked Ball (Un ballo in maschera) by Giuseppe Verdi
Images clockwise from bottom right: A Masked Ball, Diego Torre, José Carbó
One of Spain’s most sought‐after companies comes to Melbourne with a stunning production of Verdi’s A Masked Ball,
playing at Arts Centre Melbourne from April 12 to May 3.
Prepare to be amazed by a breathtaking new production by the ingenious La Fura dels Baus. Innovative director Alex Ollé
and designers Alfons Flores and Lluc Castells have created a visually stunning, ground‐breaking tale of deception, disguise
and fate in a world where the wealthy have all the power and control the populace.
Acclaimed Mexican tenor Diego Torre takes the role of Gustav III, Hungarian soprano Csilla Boross makes her Opera
Australia debut, and the outstanding José Carbó portrays Count Ankarström in his first Verdi opera. Ollé’s visceral
production sets a new benchmark in theatrical innovation and is as mind‐boggling and daring as it is musically lush. It is
conducted by Italian composer and conductor Andrea Molino, the Artistic Director of World Venice Forum, who
conducted Of Mice and Men and Macbeth for Opera Australia in 2011.
About La Fura dels Baus
Formed as a street theatre in the late 1970s, La Fura dels Baus performed in towns and cities around Catalonia. Through
their experimental beginnings they developed the traits that would later define them: inquiry, interaction with the
audience and adapting each show to the specific performance space. Accolades were quick to follow their venture onto
the international touring circuit, with their cult status being cemented with massive outdoor spectaculars for huge crowds,
including Barcelona’s Olympic Opening Ceremony in 1992.
Australian audiences may know La Fura by MTM at Barrie Kosky’s 1996 Adelaide Festival; ØBS at Sydney Festival 2001,
their huge outdoor human net as the opening event of Perth Festival 2010, and Le Grand Macabre at Adelaide Festival
2010 with its illuminated reclining giant woman. Internationally, the company has presented works at Ruhr Triennale in
Bochum, L’Opéra Bastille, Opéra national de Paris and Teatro Real in Madrid.
About the work
While the benevolent ruler Gustav III begins planning a grand masquerade for the pleasure of his subjects, his conspirators
are plotting his end. The traitors, however, will only succeed if they can enlist an ally close to the king. With its
unforgettable melodies and fine balance of romance and tragedy – and one of opera’s greatest love duets – the
international collaboration is a first for Opera Australia ahead of seasons in Brussels, Oslo, Buenos Aires and Bologna.
Written at the height of Verdi’s career, A Masked Ball is loosely based on the actual assignation of Sweden’s Gustav III.
Originally titled Gustav III, Verdi and librettist Antonio Somma were forced by censors to revise and relocate the opera’s

OPERA AUSTRALIA MEDIA RELEASE – MELBOURNE AUTUMN SEASON 2013
*New Production*
setting to Boston before its première in 1859 in Rome. Despite subsequent relaxation of the censors’ hold, which could
have meant returning the opera’s story to Sweden, A Masked Ball remained set in America until the mid‐20 th century.
About the artists
Mexican tenor Diego Torre is best known to Australian audiences as Rodolfo in La bohème. Other recent appearances
include Savonlinna Opera Festival, Boston Lyric Opera, Staatstheater Darmstadt, Metropolitan Opera and Dessau Opera,
as well as a soloist at Santo Domingo Music Festival. Upcoming engagements include both Tebaldo in I Capuleti e i
Montecchi and Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly with Den Norske Opera & Ballet.
Hungarian dramatic soprano Csilla Boross has performed extensively in Italy, as well as France and USA. Her most recent
and notable performances include Nabucco (Abigaille) at the Teatro dell'Opera di Roma with Riccardo Muti, which was
broadcast on live television throughout Europe on ARTE. She was also chosen by Maestro Muti to perform in the gala
performance celebrating the 150 th anniversary of Italy in 2011.
Born in Argentina of Spanish and Italian descent, baritone José Carbó moved to Australia with his family at an early age.
After studying under Thais Taras, Arax Mansourian and Margaret Baker Genovesi in Rome, he won the Australian Singing
Competition Opera Award in 2005. Mr Carbó made his debut with Opera Australia in 2002, followed by his European
debut in Madrid in 2011, and his American debut at Seattle Opera. Most recently in Melbourne, Mr Carbó sang in The
Barber of Seville for Opera Australia in 2012.
The cast is completed by a raft of popular Opera Australia singers including Lorina Gore as Oscar, Christopher Hillier as
Christian, Richard Anderson as Count Ribbing, David Parkin as Count Horn and Andrew Brunsdon as the Judge.
A Masked Ball is a co‐production with Teatro Colon, Buenos Aires; La Monnaie, Brussels; Norwegian National Opera &
Ballet, Oslo; and Teatro Lomunale di Bologna.
CREATIVES & CAST:
Conductor
Andrea Molino
Director
Alex Ollé
Set Designer
Alfons Flores
Costume Designer
Lluc Castells
Lighting Designer
Urs Schönebaum
PERFORMANCE INFORMATION
Evenings at 7:30pm:
April 12, 17, 20, 23, 26
May 3
Gustav III
Diego Torre
Amelia
Csilla Boross
Jacqueline Mabardi
Count Ankarström
José Carbó
Ulrica Arfvidsson
Mariana Pentcheva
Oscar
Lorina Gore
Sung in Italian with English surtitles
Running time: 2hrs 55mins with one 20min interval.
Christian
Christopher Hillier
Count Ribbing
Richard Anderson
Count Horn
David Parkin
Judge
Andrew Brunsdon
Servant
Dean Bassett
With
Orchestra Victoria
Opera Australia Chorus
BOOKINGS
Tickets: From $108
Student Rush is available at most performances. $55 (plus
transaction/handling fee)
Opera Australia Box Office: (03) 9685 3700
Or online: www.opera‐australia.org.au
State Theatre, Arts Centre Melbourne
Media Enquiries:
Sarah Wilson, Senior Publicist (02) 9318 8332 // 0405 364 643 E: sarah.wilson@opera‐australia.org.au
Imogen Corlette, National PR & Publicity Manager (02) 9318 8327 // E: imogen.corlette@opera‐australia.org.au
Government Partners Principal Partner