Un ballo in maschera
also A Masked Ball
opera · melodramma in tre atti
Composer Giuseppe Verdi
Librettist Antonio Somma
Synopsis
Riccardo, Earl of Warwick and governor of Boston, secretly loves Amelia, wife of his friend and secretary Renato, who warns him in vain of a conspiracy led by Samuel and Tom. When the fortune-teller Ulrica is accused of witchcraft, Riccardo resolves to visit her in disguise and see for himself.
Key facts
- Premiere
- 17 February 1859, Teatro Apollo, Rome
- Acts
- 3
- Language
- Italian (it)
- Setting
- Boston and its surroundings, at the end of the seventeenth century.
Dramatis personae
| Role | Voice | Created by |
|---|---|---|
| Riccardo Earl of Warwick, governor of Boston. | tenor | Gaetano Fraschini |
| Renato A Creole, Riccardo's secretary and Amelia's husband. | baritone | Leone Giraldoni |
| Amelia Renato's wife. | soprano | Eugenia Julienne-Déjean |
| Ulrica A fortune-teller. | contralto | Zelinda Sbriscia |
| Oscar A page. | soprano (coloratura) | Pamela Scotti |
| Silvano A sailor. | bass | Stefano Santucci |
| Samuel An enemy of the Earl. | bass | Cesare Bossi |
| Tom An enemy of the Earl. | bass | Giovanni Bernardoni |
| Un giudice A judge. | tenor | Giuseppe Bazzoli |
| Un servo d'Amelia Amelia's servant. | tenor | Luigi Fossi |
Source
- Gustave III, ou Le bal masqué by Eugène Scribe (1833)
Written from
- Budden, J. (1979) The operas of Verdi. Volume 2: From Il trovatore to La forza del destino. New York: Oxford University Press, pp. 359-423.
- Wikipedia (2026) Un ballo in maschera. (Accessed: 28 September 2026). The English article.
- Libretti d'opera (n.d.) Un ballo in maschera. (Accessed: 28 September 2026).
- Somma, A. (1859) Un ballo in maschera: melodramma in tre atti. Rome. (Accessed: 28 September 2026).
- Casaglia, G. (n.d.) '17 Febbraio 1859', in L'Almanacco di Gherardo Casaglia. (Accessed: 28 September 2026).
- Wikipedia (2026) Un ballo in maschera. (Accessed: 28 September 2026). The Italian article.