Synopsis

The Story of the Opera

Sweden, 1792

ACT I

Courtiers await an audience with King Gustav III, including a group of conspirators led by Counts de Horn and Ribbing. The King notices the name of Amelia, wife of his secretary and friend Anckarström, on the guest list for a masked ball, and thinks about his secret love for her. Anckarström warns the King of a conspiracy against him, but Gustav ignores the threat. The page Oscar tells the King about the fortune-teller Ulrica, who has been accused of witchcraft and is to be banished. Deciding to see for himself, the King arranges for his court to pay an incognito visit to Ulrica.

In a warehouse, Ulrica invokes prophetic spirits and tells the sailor Christiano that he will soon become wealthy and receive a promotion. The King, who has arrived in disguise, slips money and papers into Christiano’s satchel. When the sailor discovers his good fortune, everybody praises Ulrica’s abilities. Gustav hides as she sends her visitors away to admit Amelia, who is tormented by her love for the King and asks for help. Ulrica tells her that she must gather a magic herb at night by the gallows. When Amelia leaves, Gustav decides to follow her there later that night. Oscar and members of the court enter, and the King asks Ulrica to read his palm. She tells him that he will die by the hand of a friend. Gustav laughs at the prophecy and demands to know the name of the assassin. Ulrica replies that it will be the first person that shakes his hand. When Anckarström rushes in, Gustav clasps his hand, saying that the oracle has been disproved since Anckarström is his most loyal friend. Recognizing their king, the crowd cheers him as the conspirators grumble their discontent.

 

ACT II

Amelia arrives at the gallows and prays that she will be freed of her love for the King. When Gustav appears, she asks him to leave, but ultimately they admit their love for each other. Amelia hides her face when Anckarström interrupts them, warning the King that assassins are nearby. Gustav makes Anckarström promise to escort the woman back to the city without discovering her identity, then escapes. Finding Anckarström instead of their intended victim, the conspirators make ironic remarks about his cloaked companion. When Amelia realizes that her husband will fight rather than break his promise to Gustav, she reveals her identity to save him. The conspirators are amused and make fun of Anckarström for his embarrassing situation. Anckarström, shocked by the King’s betrayal, asks de Horn and Ribbing to come to his house the next morning.

 

ACT III

In his study, Anckarström threatens to kill Amelia. She asks to see their young son before she dies. After she has left, Anckarström exclaims that it is the King on whom he should seek vengeance, not Amelia. De Horn and Ribbing arrive, and Anckarström tells them that he will join their conspiracy. The men decide to draw lots to determine who will kill the King, and Anckarström forces his wife to choose from the slips of paper. When his own name is chosen, he is overjoyed. Oscar enters, bringing an invitation to the masked ball. As the assassins welcome this chance to execute their plan, Amelia decides to warn the King.

Gustav, alone in his study, resolves to renounce his love and send Amelia and Anckarström to Finland. Oscar brings an anonymous letter warning him of the murder plot, but the King refuses to be intimidated and leaves for the masquerade. In the ballroom, Anckarström tries to learn from Oscar what costume the King is wearing. The page answers evasively, but finally reveals Gustav’s disguise. Amelia and the King meet, and she repeats her warning. Refusing to leave, he declares his love one more time and tells her that he is sending her away with her husband. As the lovers say goodbye, Anckarström shoots the King. The dying Gustav forgives his murderer and admits that he loved Amelia but assures Anckarström that his wife is innocent. The crowd praises the King’s goodness and generosity.

-Courtesy of The Metropolitan Opera

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Photos

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Audio

Recommended recording of Verdi's A Masked Ball.

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Guide

Explore A Masked Ball with the Click/Read/Watch/Listen Guide. Then take a video journey through the troubled history of composer Verdi and his opera and a look at the life of King Gustav III, with stage director Kristine McIntyre.


  

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William Joyner
Gustav III

Madison Opera Debut:  Older Galileo, Galileo Galilei

Recently: Malatestino, Francesca da Rimini (Opéra de Monte Carlo, Paris Opera), Don José, Carmen (North Carolina Opera), Radames, Aida (Calgary Opera)

Website: www.williamjoyner.com

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Alexandra LoBianco
Amelia

Madison Opera Debut

Recently: Kitty Hart, Dead Man Walking (Tulsa Opera), Turandot, Turandot (Union Avenue Opera)

Upcoming: San Francisco Opera, Seattle Opera, Madison Symphony Orchestra

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Hyung Yun
Anckarström

Madison Opera Debut: Valentin, Faust

Recently with Madison Opera: Eugene Onegin, Eugene Onegin, Escamillo, Carmen

Recently: Enrico, Lucia di Lammermoor (Minnesota Opera), Ping, Turandot (San Francisco Opera)

Upcoming: Valentin, Faust (Austin Lyric Opera), Rigoletto, Rigoletto (Seattle Opera and Crested Butte Music Festival)

Website: www.hyungyun.com

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Caitlin Cisler
Oscar

Madison Opera Debut

Recently: Bonny Jo Loco, The Good, the Bad, The Divas (Fresco Opera); Papagena, Die Zauberflöte (Pittsburgh Opera Theatre); Gretel,Hansel and Gretel (Opera for the Young); Maria, West Side Story (Aspen Opera Theater Center); Norina, Don Pasquale (Candid Concert Opera)

Upcoming: Soloist, New Year's Eve Concert, Barbarina, Susanna (cover) Le nozze di Figaro, (Dayton Opera)

Website: www.caitlincisler.com

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Jeniece Golbourne
Ulrica

Madison Opera Debut

Recently: Amneris, Aida (Virginia Opera), Azucena, Il Trovatore (Stuttgart Opera and Croatian National Theatre, Zagreb), Federica, Luisa Miller (Stuttgart Opera)

Upcoming: Soloist, Concert (Latvian National Opera)

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Christiaan Smith-Kotlarek
Christiano

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Recently: Papageno, Mozart’s Magic Piccolo and Tommy, The Music Man (Ash Lawn Opera), Count Robinson, Il Matrimonio Segreto and Charlie, Three Decembers (Boston University Opera Institute)

Website: www.christiaansmithkotlarek.com

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Thomas Forde
Count Ribbing

Madison Opera Debut

Recently: Angelotti, Tosca (Fort Worth Opera), Billy Jackrabbit, La Fanciulla del West, Alidoro, La Cenerentola, and Jailer, Tosca (Opernhaus Zurich), 1^st Soldier / 2^nd Servant, Life is a Dream and Oracle, Alceste (Santa Fe Opera)

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Website: www.thomasforde.com

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John Arnold
Count de Horn

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Recently: Bob Beckett, H.M.S. Pinafore (Opera New Jersey), Leporello, Don Giovanni and Schaunard, La Bohème (UW-Madison)

Upcoming: Angelotti, Tosca and The Father, L’enfant prodigue (Kentucky Opera), Masetto, Don Giovanni (Madison Opera)

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John DeMain
Conductor, Madison Opera Artistic Director

Recently with Madison Opera: Cinderella, Eugene Onegin, La Traviata, The Marriage of Figaro

Recently: Lost in the Stars and The Music Man (Glimmerglass Festival), Show Boat (Lyric Opera of Chicago), Aida (Virginia Opera), Porgy & Bess (Seattle Opera), Pagliacci / Carmina Burana (Portland Opera)

Upcoming: Show Boat (Washington National Opera and San Francisco Opera)

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Kristine McIntyre
Stage Director

Madison Opera Debut: Così fan tutte

Recently: Eugene Onegin (Des Moines Metro Opera), Madama Butterfly (Arizona Opera), Tosca (Pittsburgh Opera), Of Mice and Men (Utah Opera)

Upcoming: Don Giovanni (Kentucky Opera), La Cenerentola (Pittsburgh Opera), Peter Grimes (Des Moines Metro Opera)

Website: www.knmcintyre.com

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