This version of Verdi’s masterly opera
is special in every way. The conducting,
the cast, the production, the recording
(the video/DVD direction by Brian Large)
are all remarkable. As for the occasion,
the live performance from the Salzburg
Festival, that was as remarkable
as the circumstances. For this was to
have been a crowning moment in 1989
as part of Karajan’s Verdi odyssey for
Salzburg; alas he died that year. However,
he did record the opera for CD (Deutsche
Grammophon) though he could not progress
from stage rehearsals to the production
itself. The following season the same
cast and production returned, conducted
by another great Verdi conductor, Sir
Georg Solti.
Verdi composed A Masked
Ball for Rome, where it was first performed
in 1859. He succeeded in making an involving
study of the characters’ fates, but
the sensitive subject of regicide led
to one of his epic battles with the
censors. As a result the Swedish King
Gustav III was turned into a count,
and the location of the drama was shifted
across the world to Boston. The theme
is love, between the tragic figure of
the king and his friend Anckerström’s
wife Amelia.
The libretto of Antonio
Somma was particularly admired by Verdi,
who responded to it in some of his most
deeply felt and ecstatic music. But
there are well drawn contrasts too.
For example, the king’s conspiratorial
enemies are characterized with deliberately
ironic wit, while the soprano travesty
role of the page Oscar provides a brilliant
counterpoint to what is essentially
a dark drama. As for the opera’s title,
it is true in two ways. The characters
do put on masks for the ball in the
final scene, but they also have to hide
(mask) their true feelings as the drama
develops.
The Salzburg production
is what we might call ‘traditional’,
and none the worse for that. The lighting
tends towards extremes, bringing out
the extremes of emotion, pretense and
intrigue that lie at the heart of the
drama. The direction of John Schlesinger,
an experienced film producer, is imaginative
in making the most of these opportunities.
The three leading roles, sung brilliantly
by Placido Domingo, Josephine Barstow
and Leo Nucci, are not only fine vocally,
but wholly convincing dramatically too.
If Sumi Jo as Oscar seems more one-dimensional,
this is partly because the role has
less depth in this regard.
Solti’s conducting
is rhythmically incisive, as ever, and
there is a beautifully drawn balance
in the recorded sound. The Vienna Philharmonic
are heard at their glorious best, with
secure string tone, some delightfully
pointed wind solos, and above all a
marvellously unified ensemble. The pacing
of the drama can hardly have been better
realized at any point in the opera’s
history.
For those searching
for the subtitles, the initial credits
give the false impression that the whole
performance will be supported in German
only. This turns out not to be so, and
the translations are sensitively done.
The booklet notes are informative and
helpful; more so than is generally the
case with issues in this format. In
sum, this is as fine an opera DVD as
one could wish to acquire.
Terry Barfoot
Vienna State Opera Chorus 
TDK
DVD-CLOPUBIM [137.54] 
