Four international world stars are on their way to the centre court in Båstad. This time it’s not about tennis – but opera! On Saturday 10 August, one of the most beloved of operas will be performed – Giuseppe Verdi’s Un ballo in maschera. A story about love, infidelity, betrayal and power directed by Staffan Valdemar Holm. It all takes place at the Tennis Stadium, with top Swedish singers, the Helsingborg Symphony Orchestra and a choir conducted by Pier Giorgio Morandi and not least – four international singers:
Michael Fabiano, USA, currently perhaps the world’s foremost tenor, has received wide praise from the press and audiences, including this Spring at the Metropolitan Opera in New York. ‘Michael Fabiano is a powerful Don José… Fabiano explodes with passion and fury… but he expresses love and tenderness in soft, beautiful tones’ (New York Classical Review). ‘One of the most thrilling Don José’s of our time’ (Woman around the World). In Un ballo in maschera Fabiano plays the role of Gustav III, or Renato in the Italian version: ‘I believe it’s the greatest opera written for a tenor’, he says.
Joyce El-Khoury, Canada. ‘ … Best of all, however, was Lebanese-Canadian soprano Joyce El-Khoury as Violetta. The role needs someone beautiful, with a sensational voice, slim build /…/ and great acting skills, especially in the final despairing act and El-Khoury had all of those in abundance.’ (La Traviata in Daily Express, UK).
‘The best and most convincing Norma I have experienced in the last two decades‘, according to a Greek opera critic about El-Khoury’s role debut as Norma, August 2023, at Herodes Atticus at the Acropolis in Athens (a performance for the 100th anniversary of Maria Callas’ birth). In Båstad, El-Khoury will perform the role of Amelia.
Daniela Barcellona, Italy, has been celebrated several times at La Scala in Milan in operas such as Lucrezia Borgia, Iphigénie en Aulide, Il viaggio a Reims, La donna del lago, Luisa Miller, Falstaff, Les Troyens. She has also appeared on stages such as the Royal Opera House in London, the Théâtre des Champs Elysées in Paris, the Bayerische Staatsoper in Munich, the Teatro Real in Madrid, the Salzburg Festival and the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona.
She has played the role of Ulrica in Un ballo in maschera at the Verbier Festival and in Barcelona, where she also played the role of Principessa in Suor Angelica, Zita in Gianni Schicchi and la Principessa di Bouillon in Adriana Lecouvreur.
Marina Monzó, Spain, sang Oscar in Un ballo in maschera on stage in València a month ago, the same role she performs in Båstad. ‘Her soprano has a wonderful peaches and cream core to the tone, she can turn the corners with ease and has a genuine trill. Most definitely an artist to watch. (Opera Traveller). In 2022, she won the Ópera XXI Award for Best Young Singer and the Ópera Actual Award for Best Young Artist.
Performers
Michael Fabiano – Gustav III
Fredrik Zetterström – Anckarström
Joyce El-Khoury – Amelia
Daniela Barcellona– Ulrica
Marina Monzó – Oscar
Anton Ljungqvist – Horn
Anders Lorentzson – Ribbing
Magnus Lindegård – Matrosen
En domare/en betjänt – Theodor Uggla
Helsingborg Orchestra & choirs from Bjäre and Helsingborg
Pier Giorgio Morandi – conductor
Staffan Valdemar Holm – stage director
The performance is sung in Italian. Subtitles in Swedish and English.
The event is organised by the Birgit Nilsson Foundation, in collaboration with S & E Destinationsutveckling, Backahill, the Birgit Nilsson Museum and Julius Production AB.