Un ballo in maschera at Finnish National Opera

Governor Riccardo is in love with Amelia, the wife of Renato. This gives Renato an excellent reason to join a conspiracy against the Governor. At a fancy dress ball, Renato takes his vengeance.

Verdi took as the subject for his opera the historical assassination of King Gustav III of Sweden, but censorship required the action and characters to be transposed to Boston. The last time that Un ballo in maschera was produced at the Finnish National Opera, the original libretto had been restored. This time, however, Vilppu Kiljunen's production takes us to the modern world of high politics where even human emotions are a matter of public relations.