Opera Holland Park Postpones Stream of 'Un Ballo In Maschera'

Opera Holland Park is aware of the #BlackOutTuesday movement among parts of the music industry that began to gather pace yesterday. They have made the decision to postpone their broadcast of Un ballo in maschera.

The broadcast has been moved to Wednesday 3 June at 7.30pm.

For several weeks, the company has planned to mark what would have been the opening night of the 2020 season with a streaming of its production from 2019 of Un ballo in maschera on our website and YouTube channel.

This is a free to air broadcast to the company's patrons and will be seen only once before being removed. The company has also arranged for VocalEyes to provide an audio-described service for the film for blind and partially sighted patrons.

"We are individually and as a company committed to equality and we understand the desire of the music industry to make a strong statement about this issue," the company stated.

After the critical and popular success of their 2018 collaboration on La traviata, director Rodula Gaitanou and conductor Mathew Kofi Waldren reunited to work on another Verdi tragedy, Un ballo in maschera, with City of London Sinfonia in the pit. Designed by takis, with sets and costumes that moved the action from an imagined 18th century to the glamour, tension and shadows of the 1940s, this production was seen by almost 10,000 people, and, in the OHP Young Artists Schools' Matinee performance, by approximately 1,000 children.

French soprano Anne Sophie Duprels (Amelia), Italian tenor Matteo Lippi (Gustavo) and British baritone George von Bergen (Anckarström) were joined in the main cast by rising star and former OHP Young Artist Alison Langer (Oscar), the distinguished mezzo-soprano Rosalind Plowright OBE (Madame Arvidson) and baritones Benjamin Bevan (Ribbing), John Savournin (Horn) and Ross Ramgobin (Cristiano), with the Opera Holland Park Chorus and City of London Sinfonia. Lighting was by Simon Corder, with choreography by Steve Elias and fight direction by Bret Yount.