Un ballo in maschera

A Masked Ball

by Giuseppe Verdi

Opera Pages johnrpierce.com

Terms of use

Recommended recordings

Maria Callas’s studio recording for EMI is generally well regarded by critics.  Recorded in Milan September 4-12, 1956, its cast includes Giuseppe di Stefano, Tito Gobbi, Fedora Barbieri, and Eugenia Ratti, with the Chorus and Orchestra of La Scala conducted by Antonio Votto.  Available from amazon.com

Opera d’Oro has issued a “live” performance of Maria Callas at La Scala, Milan, in 1957.  The cast includes Giuseppe di Stefano, Ettore Bastianini, Giulietta Simionato, and Eugenia Ratti, conducted by Gianandrea Gavazzeni. Available from amazon.com 

EMI has also issued a newly remastered recording of the performance.  Available from amazon.com.

Comparing Callas’s “live” performance with her studio recording, John Ardoin wrote in The Callas Legacy:  The Complete Guide to Her Recordings on Compact Disc:  “the [live] performance is sung with more vivid colors, with accents more etched and a general intensification of Verdi’s drama.” 

José Carreras, Montserrat Caballé, and Renato Bruson star in a recording, released on Opera d’Oro in June 2001, of a “live” performance at La Scala, Milan, in 1975, conducted by Francesco Molinari-Pradelli.   Opera d’Oro #1302 available from amazon.com

Un Ballo in Maschera, with Pavarotti Art Print
Hirschfeld, Al
Buy at AllPosters.com