Opéra de Paris

Un Ballo In Maschera

In Cinemas 18, 19 & 22 Apr 2026
Conductor
Speranza Scappucci
Orchestra
Orchestra de l’Opera de national de Paris
Cast
Matthew Polenzani (Riccardo), Anna Netrebko (Amelia), Ludovic Tézier (Renato), Sara Blanch (Oscar), Elizabeth DeShong (Ulrica), Christian Rodrigue Moungoungou (Samuele), Blake Denson (Tomaso), Andres Cascante (Silvano), Ju In Yoon (a judge), Se-Jin Hwang (Amelia’s servant)
Composer
Giuseppe Verdi
Director
Gilbert Deflo
Set Design
William Orlandi
Duration
Approx. 2h15 incl. an interval
Sung in Italian, with English subtitles
Captured live from Opéra Bastille, Paris, 8 Feb 2026
Official Event Listing

Opera in three acts (1859) 

Screening direct from Paris, an all-star new performance of Verdi’s elegant and passionate drama, inspired by the assassination of King Gustav II of Sweden at a masquerade ball in 1792.

The governor of Boston (Matthew Polenzani) is preparing to host a masked ball. He is delighted that Amelia (Anna Netrebko) - the wife of his friend and secretary Renato (Ludovic Tézier) - will be attending. A fortune teller, Ulrica (Elizabeth DeShong), predicts that he will be murdered by a friend. Meanwhile, Amelia has also gone to consult Ulrica in the hope that she will cure her of her love for a man who is not her husband...

Blending frivolity and gravity, Verdi's music enjoyed huge success from its Rome premiere in 1859. Director Gilbert Deflo retains the American setting but moves it to the time of Lincoln to better confront the world of reason and morality with that of intuition and belief. Speranza Scappucci conducts.

 

 

Opéra de Paris

Opéra de Paris is one of the world's greatest opera and ballet companies. Founded more than three centuries ago by Louis XIV, it now holds performances in two theatres, the Palais Garnier (1875) and the Opéra Bastille (1989). The company’s mission is to preserve and develop our operatic and ballet heritage and it gives more than 350 performances per year. Great composers such as Rameau, Gluck, Rossini, Verdi, Wagner, Gounod, Massenet, Poulenc and Messiaen all gave the first performances of their works here.

See more productions from: Opéra national de Paris