Marcelo Álvarez (seated) as Gustavo and Dmitri Hvorostovsky as Anckarsträm in Verdi’s “Un Ballo in Maschera.“ Photo: Brigitte Lacombe/Metropolitan Opera
Political intrigue, jealousy and vengeance run through Verdi’s Un Ballo in Macshera, streamed Live in HD from the Metropolitan Opera to Orcas Center’s big screen on Sunday, December 16 at 1:00 pm.
Verdi’s vivid drama of jealousy, political intrigue, thwarted romance and vengeance, Un Ballo in Maschera will be seen in a new production by acclaimed opera director David Alden. Alden whose production is set in a dreamlike, early 20th-century Swedish environment, says “Un Ballo in Maschera is one of Verdi’s greatest and most brilliant scores, with a variety of different colors. It alternates between the light and the intensely melodramatic. Verdi pulls it all together with unbelievable theatrical energy. Ballo is theatrical dynamite.”.
Some of the Met’s leading Verdi stars take on the central roles in the opera’s love triangle: Marcelo Álvarez as the ill-fated King Gustavo III; Dmitri Hvorostovsky as his best friend and eventual rival, Count Anckarström; and Sondra Radvanovsky as Amelia, Anckarström’s wife and the object of the king’s secret passion. Kathleen Kim sings the coloratura role of Oscar, Gustavo’s page, and Stephanie Blythe is Mme. Ulrica Arvidsson, a fortune-teller with ominous news for the king. Soprano Deborah Voigt hosts the transmission and conducts backstage interviews with the stars.
“An excellent cast who bring all the emotion, tenderness, and tension to a score that is both exciting and haunting.”—Huffington Post
Tickets for Un Ballo in Maschera from the Met: Live in HD are $18 for adults, $13 students, ($2 off for Orcas Center Members) and may be purchased at www.orcascenter.org or by calling 376-2281 ext. 1 or visiting the Orcas Center Box Office open Wednesday, Thursday and Friday from noon – 4 pm. For more information about Orcas Center 2012 season events, please visit www.orcascenter.org.
