Muscat staging of Verdi’s tragic opera maintains its lavish and melancholy tradition

Performers and conductor share joy at Chinese company's 'profound' version of Un Ballo In Maschera at Royal Opera House

Un Ballo In Maschera touches on the corrosive impacts of pride, jealousy and betrayal. Photo: Royal Opera House Muscat

If to love is to suffer then opera is and has always been the ideal soundtrack, according to star soprano Elena Stikhina. It’s a dictum the Russian has followed throughout her storied career, meaning roles are approached with a mix of relish and reticence.

Speaking to The National ahead of Saturday’s final performance of Giuseppe Verdi’s Un Ballo In Maschera (The Masked Ball) at the Royal Opera House Muscat, she describes how her role as Amelia illustrates how female characters carry most of the emotional load in popular productions.

"This is particularly the case with Italian composers like Verdi," she notes. "They know the secret to good opera is to always make the women suffer, whether it’s in terms of them trying to make important decisions or coming to terms with their situation. They are normally crying or dying."

Stikhina loves it all, of course, because the onstage trauma is often backed by memorable music that speaks more to the heart than any scripted dialogue.

On that score, Un Ballo In Maschera fits the bill. First performed in 1859 and set in the royal courts of Sweden (another original version moved the action to the governor’s mansion in Boston), it runs the gamut of emotions as it touches on the corrosive impacts of pride, jealousy and betrayal.

The tragic opera tells the story of Swedish king Gustav, an equally popular and derided figure whose secret desire for Amelia, the wife of his closest adviser, hastens his assassination by a group of disgruntled citizens.

While the story is well told, it is the various interpretations and staging that continue to give it new life nearly two centuries on.

From left, Russian soprano Elena Stikhina stars alongside Polish tenor Piotr Beczala as King Gustav and Chinese baritone Liao Changyong as Count Anckarstrom. Photo: Royal Opera House Muscat

The Oman reiteration of Un Ballo In Maschera, as part of the Royal Opera House Muscat launch of its 2024/25 season, is defined by its international collaborations.

A production by China’s National Centre for the Performing Arts and an eclectic cast including Polish tenor Piotr Beczala as King Gustav and Chinese baritone Liao Changyong, the opera is played under the baton of Italian conductor Giampaolo Bisanti.

"I have been lucky enough to have worked in many places around the world, but this is the first time I collaborated with a Chinese company and it has already left a profound impression on me," Bisanti says.

“There are times when I am conducting that I don't have a lot of time where you really have no rehearsals. You arrive in the country and have a meeting with the singers and orchestra and then before you know it you are on stage.

"So it can be, at times, a game of Russian roulette because you don't know this organism on stage is going to react, but the Chinese artists were brilliant to work with. They are talented and very serious people who are polite and clever in how they express what they are asked of them."

Directed by Argentine Hugo De Ana, the staging is detailed and at times opulent, as the drama unfolds from the royal court to dark forests where Amelia consults a sorceress to cure her ill-fated passion for King Gustav. The costumes, from the ornate and embroidered ball gowns to the formal waistcoats and military uniforms are stunning while staging is logical and makes use of the relatively wide depth of space the opera house offers through its main auditorium.

China’s National Centre for the Performing Arts is behind the Muscat show. Photo: Royal Opera House Muscat

Bisanti says a staging of Un Ballo In Mascheracan be a blessing or a curse if not approached correctly. “I have seen some truly ugly versions of the opera over the years that are vulgar and moved away from the spirit of the libretto or versions that were just too kitschy,” he says. "This version is a winning one in that it is a very traditional one without being banal.”

Stikhina agrees, stating a dry retelling of the opera is a disservice to the material, particularly as some of the struggles of Amelia's character echo today.

"Like herself we all make decisions that are not always right and the beauty and romance of love can be difficult to navigate in some traditional societies," she says. "What we can learn from Amelia's life is that what's more difficult than making decisions is to live with them. It's about taking responsibility for your actions instead of helping someone solve it for you. "

As per the tradition of tragic operas, Un Ballo In Maschera ends in bloodshed and melancholy but Stikhina wouldn’t have it any other way.

"Nobody wants to see happy families on stage," she says. "We go to the opera to be entertained but also to work through our emotions. You can walk in the hall with tensions of the world and then you walk out feeling completely free."