Ep. 101 Un Ballo in Maschera by Verdi

12/09/2022 1h 58min
Ep. 101 Un Ballo in Maschera by Verdi

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Episode Synopsis

Masks, both literal and figurative, abound in Verdi’s Un Ballo in Maschera, “A Masked Ball.”  Conspirators feign support of a leader they despise.  A noblewoman must veil both her face and her feelings from her husband.  The governor must put on a disguise to understand his subjects, and his beloved.  The governor’s chief councilor dons a mask to take murderous revenge on him for an imagined betrayal.  Even the setting itself, colonial Boston, is a thin disguise for the original setting, Sweden under Gustav III.
 
Hosted by Pat and guest co-host Michael Severance, long-serving bassoonist and contrabassoonist with the San Francisco Opera Orchestra.