Verdi's Un ballo in maschera
Liliana Cavani (stage director), Riccardo Muti (conductor) – With Salvatore Licitra (Riccardo), Maria Guleghina (Amelia) – Teatro alla Scala
Thank you for your understanding.
Cast
Liliana Cavani — Stage director
Dante Ferretti — Set designer, lighting
Gabriella Pescucci — Costumes
Mischa van Hoecke — Choreographer
Salvatore Licitra — Riccardo
Bruno Caproni — Renato
Maria Guleghina — Amelia
Mariana Pentcheva — Ulrica
Ofelia Sala — Oscar
Pietro Terranova — Silvano
Giovanni Battista Parodi — Samuele
Giancarlo Boldrini — Tom
Ernesto Gavazzi — Judge
Ernesto Panariello — Amelia's page boy
Coro e Orchestra del Teatro alla Scala
Roberto Gabbiani — Chorus master
Program notes
Transported by the baton of Riccardo Muti and the best singers, a memorable Masked Ball at the Scala in Milan.
Conducted by Riccardo Muti, the master of the Scala in Milan for twenty years (1986 to 2005), the Verdian melodrama unfolds before our eyes directed by Liliana Cavani. This production, recorded live in 2001, is ageless, Cavani's approach being that of timeless tradition: pasteboard and period costumes triumph as if to prove that nothing changes at the Scala.
In any case, musical excellence is pre-eminent as usual: to start with, the role of Riccardo is played by the wonderful Salvatore Licitra who began his career as a tenor precisely with A Masked Ball, in Parma, in 1998. As for Maria Guleghina, she plays an exceptionally good Amelia. The orchestra and chorus of the Scala, as well as all of the soloists, are transported by Riccardo Muti's passionate and contrasted conducting, proving once again what a wonderful Verdian he is.
Libretto by Antonio Somma taken from Gustave III ou Le bal masqué by Eugenio Scribe
