VERDI, G.: Un ballo in maschera (Salzburg Festival, 1990) (PAL)

Un Ballo in Maschera
Giuseppe Verdi

Performer: Plácido Domingo
Director: John Schlesinger

Picture Format: 4:3
Sound Format: LPCM stereo
Running Time: 145 Mins
Region Code: PAL All
Booklet Languages: GB, F, D
Recording Date: 28 July 1990

Cat. No.: DV-CLOPUBIM

TDK releases on DVD yet another gem from the archives of Austrian Television. The outstanding production of Verdi's Masked Ball at the Salzburg Festivals 1989 and 1990 was Herbert von Karajan's legacy to the Festival. Supported by a cast of superlative actor-singers in opulent scenery, Sir George Solti agreed to conduct the opera at short notice after Karajan's unexpected death in 1989.

The performance on this DVD was recorded when Un ballo in maschera was revived for six performances the following year, with the same cast and with Solti back on the podium. However, 40,000 applications for tickets could not be met, and it may have been some comfort to the ticketless that ORF transmitted the première live on television - not only to Austria but also simultaneously to Japan. The joint enterprise with NHK Tokyo also involved state of the art technical resources.

This "operatic feast for posterity", as it was called by Vienna's Kurier, has now been released from the archives of Austrian Television for the enjoyment of opera lovers all over the world. It brought together all the visual and musical ingredients that make lyric theatre a fascinating experience and perfectly suited to the audio-visual medium, too. This performance can claim for a special place not only in the history of opera but also in the history of opera on DVD.

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