Un ballo in maschera (A Masked Ball)

\"See how the drama is turned into laughter\", comment the chorus, as they witness the destruction of a marriage and a friendship. Here Pierluigi Petrobelli shows how the irony woven into the tragedy results from the meeting of French and Italian traditions. Is this really a ridiculous libretto mangled by censorship, or is it Verdi"s finest achievement, with its perfectly symmetrical drama and beautiful variety? Benedict Sarnaker analyses the extended love duet - the kernel of the score, and the pivot of the action. Harold Powers looks at the laughing chorus and at the quicksilver character of Oscar, unique in Verdi"s work.



Contents: Introduction, Nicholas John; A Fusion of Styles, Pierluigi Petrobelli; A King Restored: Structure and Music in "A Masked Ball", Benedict Sarnaker; The "Laughing Chorus" in Contexts, Harold Powers; Un ballo in maschera: Libretto by Antonio Somma; A Masked Ball: English translation by Edmund Tracey