1101 Verdi: A Masked Ball

Un ballo in maschera (A Masked Ball) is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi with text by Antonio Somma. However, Somma's libretto was itself based on the five act libretto which playwright Eugène Scribe had written for Daniel Auber's 1833 opera, Gustave III, ou Le bal masqué. Although it was to take over two years between the time of the commission and its premiere performance, that took place at the Teatro Apollo in Rome on 17 February 1859. Scribe wrote about the assassination in 1792 of King Gustav III of Sweden who was killed as the result of a political conspiracy against him. He was shot while attending a masked ball and died 13 days later of his wounds. In order to become the Un ballo in maschera which we know today, Verdi's opera (and his libretto) was forced to undergo a significant series of transformations, caused by a combination of censorship regulations in both Naples and Rome, as well as by the political situation in France in January 1858. Please click on the link below to support Classical Music Discoveries.  Your kind donation of ANY amount is greatly appreciated! You can purchase our recordings by visiting our online store at: www.ClassicalRecordings.co  The new CMD Portable Digital Recording System was designed specifically for Classical Music Discoveries for recording classical music. This system is also used by the CMD Grand Opera Company of Venice, the Southwest Symphony Orchestra and the CMD Philharmonic Orchestra of Paris.  To learn more about this system please click HERE. Show your support for Classical Music Discoveries by becoming a Friend!Click HERE to become a Friend of Classical Music Discoveries  Our Sponsors: La Musica International Chamber Music Festival Southwest Symphony Orchestra Advertisers in this show are: Advertise on CMD for Only $5! Southwest Symphony OrchestraLa Musica International Chamber Music FestivalClassical Recordings StoreA FREE Gift for Our Listeners GoDaddy Chicago Steak CompanySousa Fundraising - please donate $1 today! Harp and Soul - Anne VanschothorstNick CanellakisLearn French Like a Native Play My Music Our next edition of Play My Music broadcasts on January 21, 2015 To have your music played on this show, please visit our submission site below: CMDPlayMyMusic.com