A Masked Ball by Verdi

BOX OFFICE OPENING – 2026_2027 SEASON

June 18–21: exclusive for CCB Card holders

From June 22 onwards: general public

A king in love with his best friend's wife; a conspirator who discovers the betrayal too late to act honourably; a fortune-teller whose prophecy no one believes; and a masked ball where all the threads of the plot converge. Premiered at the Teatro Apollo in Rome on February 17, 1859, Un ballo in maschera is one of Verdi's most singular works.

The libretto, written by Antonio Somma, is based on the assassination of Sweden's King Gustav III at a masked ball in 1792. In Verdi's hands, a political conspiracy and a secret love become inseparable, as the friendship between the King and Renato, his adviser, crumbles under the weight of a passion neither can control. The score moves between tragedy and lightness, especially in the passages entrusted to Oscar, the King's page, whose music radiates the distinctively French elegance that Verdi assimilated from his experience on Paris stages.

Lisbon holds a special place in the history of this opera: on April 15, 1860, just over a year after the Rome premiere, the then Royal São Carlos Theatre was the first opera house to stage Un ballo in maschera outside Italy, with Gaetano Fraschini, the tenor who had created the role of the protagonist, repeating it in the Portuguese capital.

Pre-concert conversation 30 minutes before each performance.

Accessibility: Audio description session on April 30.

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