Verdi - Un ballo in maschera / Arroyo · Domingo · Cappuccilli · Cossotto · Grist · NPO · Muti
Betrayal and forgiveness are the themes of this complex opera: Amelia's  betrayal of her husband, Renato (she is having an affair with Riccardo. governor  of the Massachusetts Bay Colony), and the betrayal and assassination of Riccardo  by a group of conspirators. The libretto is better integrated than most of  Verdi's operas written beforeOtelloandFalstaff. It was  originally about an historic incident, the assassination of King Gustav III of  Sweden, but Roman censors, nervous about royal assassinations, forced the absurd  relocation of the opera to colonial Boston. The music is prime middle-period  Verdi, less spectacular thanIl Trovatore,RigolettoorLa  Forza del Destino, but it is warmly, richly expressive. It requires and  rewards exceptionally good voices, and it gets them in this production.  Outstanding work by Muti helps make this one of the best Verdi recordings ever  made.--Joe McLellan