Verdi: Un Ballo in Maschera

Copy at Case Memorial Library
Anthony Tommasini wrote in the New York Times: "Like an increasing number of orchestras and opera companies, the Royal Opera House in London has been issuing recordings of historic live broadcasts. The producers have made exciting selections, none more so than a newly released 1962 performance of Verdi's 'Ballo in Maschera.' The overall performance, excitingly conducted by Edward Downes, makes this live recording, with quite passable sound quality, a worthy addition to the discography. But the main point of interest is Jon Vickers's portrayal of Gustavo III, in a production adhering to the opera's original setting in the court of the Swedish king. Mr. Vickers, 35 at the time, was widely acclaimed for his viscerally powerful singing of dramatic tenor roles like Wagner's Siegmund and Beethoven's Florestan. On this occasion you hear flashes of the anguished intensity he would later bring to Verdi's Otello and Wagner's Tristan. But opera buffs who know only the force-of-nature Vickers may be surprised to discover what a fine Verdi stylist he was" ("Classical Recordings," 7/27/08).