Verdi: Un ballo in maschera

Conspiracies, political intrigue and an assassination plot: Verdi's Un ballo in maschera has all the ingredients of a classic thriller. But it's also a drama of loyalty, witchcraft and doomed love, and Mario Martone's 2008 production for the Teatro Real, Madrid puts the human factor centre stage, with Sergio Tramonti's richly atmospheric designs evoking a claustrophobic world in which passion can prove even more deadly than politics. Jesús López Cobos conducts, and with Marcelo Alvarez (Riccardo) and Violeta Urmana (Amelia) heading a truly stellar cast, the singing is as magnificent – and as compelling – as the drama.