Composed for the 1857–58 Carnival Season at the Teatro San Carlo in Naples, Verdi’s Un ballo in maschera tells of the assassination of Sweden’s King Gustav III. It was rejected by the Neapolitan censors, and so were its revisions. The opera’s first performance eventually took place on 17 February 1859 at the Teatro Apollo in Rome, but only after revisions demanded by the pontifical censors had been made. The setting was transferred from Sweden to colonial North America; and Riccardo, the governor of Boston, was to be the murder victim. Despite these changes, Un ballo in maschera was very well received by the audience, and it remains one of Verdi’s most popular stage works.

Like most modern performances, this recording is based on the Swedish version of the opera. Its first performance at the Vienna Opera House on the Ring was given in 1870 (exactly one year after the building’s opening) and has since enjoyed well over 500 performances in this house. The star-studded cast includes Piotr Beczała (Gustav III), Dmitri Hvorostovky (Renato), Krassimira Stoyanova (Emilia), Nadja Krasteva, Hila Fahima, Alexandru Moisiuc, Sorin Coliban, Igor Onishchenko and Thomas Ebenstein. The conductor is Jesús López Cobos. Live recording April 2016.

Cast:
- Gustaf III: Piotr Beczała
- Renato Anckaström: Dmitri Hvorostovsky
- Amelia: Krassimira Stoyanova
- Ulrica: Nadia Krasteva
- Oscar: Hila Fahima
- Graf Horn: Alexandru Moisiuc
- Graf Warting: Sorin Coliban
- Christiano: Igor Onishchenko
- Ein Richter / Ein Diener: Thomas Ebenstein