a libretto by Eugene Scribe for Daniel Auber's opera Gustave III, ou Le Bal masque
Creative/Crew
Conductor
Stage Director(s)
Chorus Master
Incidental Dances by
Cast
Riccardo, Count of Warwick, and Governor of Boston
Renato, his secretary and friend
Amelia, Renato's wife
Ulrica, a Fortuneteller
Oscar, a page
Sam, an enemy of the Count
Tom, an enemy of the Count
Judge
Silvano
Servant
Show Dates
Broadcast
Live broadcast, Act II.
Time and Place
End of 17th Century, Colonial Boston
Scenes
Media
Notes
To access the full production program, click the PDF link above.
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10/23/1940, live broadcast, Act II: "Un Ballo in Maschera, Act II (fragment): Jussi Björling (Riccardo), Elisabeth Rethberg (Amelia), Richard Bonelli (Renato); Gennaro Papi."
Program note:
"Un Ballo in Maschera" was written shortly after the attempt on the life of Napoleon III. First called "Gustavo III," after an assassinated Swedish monarch, it carried in its plot a similar murder and its intended presentation in Naples was prohibited. Later it was given in Rome but, in order to meet police requirements, with locale changed to Colonial America and Gustavo III to Richard "Count" of Warwick and "Governor" of Boston.
Jussi Bjoerling's Act III aria:
Arthur Bloomfield in his book "San Francisco Opera, 1923-1978" stipulates Bjoerling sang the third act aria he later cut at the Met and elsewhere. The only proof of this being true is the review of a Los Angeles performance, which indeed mentions the aria. The printed program lists that particular scene, a scene consisting of his aria and a brief exchange with Oscar, which would seem to indicate that it did take place.
No orchestra scores from that time exist, so the fact can not be verified in that fashion. All indications are that he DID sing it at the War Memorial and with the Company on tour.