The Italian stage director returns to Menorca’s Teatre Principal to helm Verdi’s political thriller, with a cast led by tenor Celso Albelo as Riccardo and soprano Erika Grimaldi as Amelia.
Acclaimed stage director Giorgia Guerra is taking on a new professional challenge on familiar ground. She will be at the helm of Un ballo in maschera, Giuseppe Verdi’s opera, which comes to the Teatre Principal in Maó on 29 and 31 May as part of the 55th Season of the Amics de s’Òpera de Maó. “I’m absolutely delighted to be back in Menorca, where I can honestly say I feel right at home, and where the working conditions are second to none. This wonderful island has an extraordinary passion for opera and a loyal, warm-hearted audience,” says the Roman director, who has previously staged Ernani and I Puritani at Spain’s oldest opera house.
This new production marks Giorgia Guerra’s first time directing Un ballo in maschera, one of the most solid and complex works in Verdi’s catalogue. “I’m especially excited to be using a set of painted backdrops from the 1980s that come from my father’s warehouse – he was the theatre impresario Raffaele Guerra,” she reveals. “Those backdrops are steeped in history and are a living testament to Italian operatic tradition. Bringing them onto the stage is also a tribute to my roots.”
Guerra, who began her career as an assistant in the family business before moving into acting and then stage direction, explains that her vision of Verdi’s opera will shine a light on the contradictions of power and the tragic force of its female characters. “I wanted to highlight and contrast the figure of Amelia, a woman torn between duty and feeling, alongside an Ulrica who speaks to men as equals. Un ballo in maschera portrays the inner human struggle like few other operas, as well as the decision to maintain a nobility of spirit that guides Riccardo’s choices right up to his death. His integrity stands firm regardless of what others may think or say. These days, it’s very hard to find men who stay true to their ideals, and Riccardo is a powerful example of that,” adds the director, emphasising the psychological depth Verdi gave to every character.
The production boasts a top-tier cast headed by Celso Albelo (Riccardo), Erika Grimaldi (Amelia), Simone Piazzola (Renato), Aitana Sanz (Oscar), and Olesya Petrova (Ulrica), among others. The Principal de Maó’s orchestra pit will be home to the Orquestra Simfònica de les Illes Balears under the musical direction of Gaetano Lo Coco, while on stage, alongside the soloists, the Coro Amics de s’Òpera de Maó, prepared by their director Cristina Álvarez, will provide the collective voice for this tale of conspiracy, forbidden love, and fate.
“It’s a privilege to work with musicians and singers of this calibre,” continues Giorgia Guerra, “in a theatre as vibrant as the Principal de Maó. My aim is for the audience to feel the raw intensity of Verdi, to shut out the outside world and be swept up in this drama – which has touches of the terrifying alongside great celebratory moments where the mask eventually falls away to reveal the most authentic depths of the human soul,” she concludes.
With this new production, the 55th Season of the Amics de s’Òpera reaffirms its commitment to major international names and to preserving the stage heritage of Italian operatic tradition. Giorgia Guerra’s upcoming engagements keep the focus firmly on Verdi, with works such as Nabucco and Don Carlo already in the pipeline for future seasons.◆