In 1857, Giuseppe Verdi accepted a commission from the San Carlo Theater in Naples. The composer has long wanted to write an opera based on Shakespeare’s tragedy King Lear. However, the theater could not invite those singers and singers who, in Verdi’s opinion, could adequately embody his idea. The «Masquerade Ball» was born as a compromise. The spectacular plot about the assassination of King Gustav III of Sweden has already been successfully tested in public.: In 1833, Daniel Aubert wrote an opera based on the libretto by the French playwright Eugene Scribe, which was based on this story. And the cast of characters was well suited to the standards of an ordinary Italian opera company.
The plot of the opera has all the necessary qualities to completely capture the attention of the audience: a twisted intrigue that weaves a love triangle into a political conspiracy, vivid characters, strong passions, acute situations and impressive theatrical effects — a scene of witchcraft, a love duet on a night field where executions are carried out, and murder against the backdrop of a masquerade. As Giuseppe Verdi himself said about him: «The drama is brilliant, and entirely in the mores of our time.»
