Catalan La Fura dels Baus to premiere Verdi’s ‘A Masked Ball’ in Sydney

Barcelona (ACN).- The Catalan theatre company La Fura del Baus, famous for its idiosyncratic style, will unveil its own particular vision of the opera classic ‘Un ballo in maschera’ by Giuseppe Verdi in Australia. From the 16^th of January to the 12^th of February they will be performing at the Sydney Opera House. ‘A Masked Ball’ is directed by La Fura’s Director, Àlex Ollé, and casting Mexican tenor Diego Torres and Georgian soprano Tamar Iveri. Then, the spectacle will be moved to Brussels, Oslo and Buenos Aires. The Catalan group, started in the late 1970s, is famous for their unique style, applied to theatre, dance, opera or open air ceremonies. They have received great recognition from critics and audiences for other opera adaptations including Wagner’s ‘The Ring of the Nibelung’, Mozart’s ‘The Magic Flute’, George Enescu’s ‘Oedipe’ and György Ligeti’s ‘Le Grand Macabre’, all of them having toured worldwide. In fact, with the latest two titles and now ‘Un ballo in maschera’, La Fura dels Baus will be returning to Brussels’ La Monnaie Theatre for their third time in four years.

La Fura dels Baus will premier its iconoclast version of Verdi’s ‘A masked ball’ (Un ballo in maschera) in Sydney, in collaboration with Opera Australia, the main opera company in the Oceania country. The show is directed by Barcelona-born Àlex Ollé and it was designed by Catalans Alfons Flores and Lluc Castells. The opera is based on the assassination of Sweden’s King Gustav III, although in a very general way. In fact, ‘A Masked Ball’ is a story about deception, machination and failure in a world where the rich ones have all the power and control over the population.

The prestigious soprano Tamar Iveri, born in Tiblisi (Georgia), will perform as Amelia for the first time. The famous Mexican tenor Diego Torre will also debut his role as Gustav III. José Carbó will play the Count Ankarström in his first Verdi opera. The musical direction comes from the Italian Andrea Molina. Molina is the Artistic Director of the World Venice Forum and he has already directed ‘Of Mice and Men’ and ‘Macbeth’ for Opera Australia in 2011.