|
A Compelling Production
Verdi's 'Un Ballo in Maschera' at Opera North,
reviewed by MIKE WHEELER
Verdi's Un Ballo in Maschera, based on the assassination of Swedish King Gustavus III in 1792, famously hit censorship trouble almost from the start, forcing a change of location and period, with the central character now a provincial governor. Tim Albery's production for Opera North — the company's first: Theatre Royal, Nottingham, UK, 17 March 2018 — mostly reverted to the original Swedish character names, as commonly happens these days, while placing the action in an unspecified setting some time around the late 1940s. Hannah Clark's designs contrasted the cold pale grey-greens — set and costumes — of Gustavo's court with the fiery reds of Ulrica's den, while the eighteenth-century fancy dress — everyone dressed in a uniform magenta — for the masked ball itself neatly suggested the opera's time and location as originally conceived...
Copyright © 30 March 2018
Mike Wheeler,
Derby UK
|
