San Francisco Opera opens the 2024-25 season with a production of Giuseppe Verdi’s Un ballo in maschera (A Masked Ball), starring Michael Fabriano as King Gustavus III of Sweden and Lianna Haroutounian as Amelia – on whom the king has set his eye. Gustavus’ trusted adviser, Renato, is sung by baritone Amartuvshin Enkhbat and mezzo-soprano Judit Kutasi is the soothsayer, Ulrica. The production is directed by Leo Muscato and led by Music Director Eun Sun Kim, continuing her exploration of the operas of Verdi.
© Cory Weaver/San Francisco Opera
This dramatic tale of love, betrayal and revenge – against the background of an opulent masquerade – is Verdi’s interpretation of the assassination, in 1792, of King Gustavus. The flirtatious Gustavus secretly harbors a love for Amelia, the wife of Renato who warns the King about a plot against his life. When the King visits a fortune teller, she confirms that his love for Amelia is reciprocated and repeats the warning about the plot against his life. The King doesn’t take either warning seriously, but when Renato discovers that the monarch is having an affair with his wife, things take a more serious turn.
The libretto of Verdi’s opera is by Antonio Somma, whose text was apparently based on the libretto which French dramatist Eugène Scribe had written for Daniel Auber’s 1833 opera, Gustave III, ou Le bal masqué. In this work, Scribe wrote of the King’s assassination – he died of gunshot wounds received during a masked ball as the result of a political conspiracy against him. Un ballo in maschera premiered at the Teatro Apollo in Rome on February 17, 1859.
The role of King Gustavus in this production by San Francisco Opera is sung by American tenor Michael Fabiano, whose “…. heartrending Lensky is out of this world”, says The Independent of Fabiano’s appearance in Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin. Fabiano has recently appeared as Pinkerton in Puccini’s Madama Butterfly at Teatro Real Madrid, Rodolfo in Verdi’s Luisa Miller at Teatro di San Carlo Naples and Cavadarossi in Puccini’s Tosca at Staatsoper Unter den Linden. Following this appearance in Un ballo in maschera, Fabiano will appear as Manrico in the Metropolitan Opera’s production of Verdi’s Il trovatore and as Ruggero in Puccini’s La rondine at the Barbican in London.
© Cory Weaver/San Francisco Opera
Armenian soprano Lianna Haroutounian sings the role of Amelia, wife of Renato and the object of King Gustavus’ affections. Said by the San Francisco Chronicle that “It was a joy to bask in the magnificence of her singing”, Ms Haroutounian recently appeared in the title role in Ponchielli’s La gioconda at Teatro San Carlo in Naples and as Cio Cio San in Puccini’s Madama Butterfly at Teatro Real, Madrid. Later this year she will appear in Verdi’s Messa da Requiem at La Monnaie in Brussels, and as Ariadne in Strauss’s Ariadne auf Naxos at the Teatro Maestanza in Seville.
Renato, King Gustavus’ jealous and impulsive adviser, is sung by Mongolian baritone Amartuvshin Enkhbat. A former winner of the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World, Mr Enkhbat’s recent engagements include those of Amonasro in Verdi’s Aïda at Arena di Verona, the title role in Verdi’s Nabucco with Deutsche Oper Berlin and the Wiener Staatsoper, and Giordano’s Andrea Chénier at The Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. Future appearances include role of Carlo Gérard in Andrea Chénier at Opéra de Lyon and a concert version of this opera at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées in Paris.
The fortune teller, Ulrica, is sung by Romanian mezzo-soprano Judit Kutasi who made her US debut last season with San Francisco Opera as Ortrud in Wagner’s Lohengrin. She also made her Met Opera debut as Preziosilla in Verdi’s La forza del destino. Later this season Ms Kutasi will
appear in Verdi’s Messa da Requiem at the Festival Internazionale di Musica e Arte Sacra in Rome, and as Amneris in Met Opera’s production of Verdi’s Aïda.
Also in the cast are Chinese soprano Mei Gui Zhang in the trouser role of Oscar, the page, baritone Samuel Kidd as Silvano and conspirators Sam and Tom are Adam Lou and Jongwon Han.
San Francisco Opera © Cory Weaver/San Francisco Opera
San Francisco Opera’s production of Un ballo in maschera is sung in Italian with English supertitles. The San Francisco Opera Orchestra and Chorus – Director John Keene – are conducted by Music Director Eun Sun Kim, between September 6th and 27th. Further information and details of ticket reservations can be found on the San Francisco Opera website.
The performance on September 15th will be live-streamed from 2.00 pm PT and will be available on demand from 10.00 am PT on September 16th until 10.00 am on September 18th.
On Sunday September 8th, the San Francisco Chronicle presents Opera in the Park. This afternoon of arias and ensembles will be conducted by Music Director Eun Sun Kim, who leads stars from San Francisco Opera’s 2024–25 Season and the San Francisco Opera Orchestra in a time-honored Bay Area tradition which is free and open to all. Visit the San Francisco Opera website for details.
Information sourced from:
San Francisco Opera program notes
Gabriele Baldini: The Story of Giuseppe Verdi: Oberto to Un Ballo in Maschera – 1970
Artists’ websites
Operabase