This opera has well-balanced characters, for example, the governor Riccardo and his lover, Amelia. People concealed the identity by a mask at that time, so the ball often became the stage of an assassination. In the 18th century, a masked ball was becoming popular among the aristocracy. People in Rome enthusiastically welcomed this outstanding opera.

In addition, the world premiere of this opera was held in Rome because this had softer censorship than Naples at that time. So, Verdi changed the setting from Sweden to America. But, this opera which is based on the assassination of the King couldn’t pass censorship. Giuseppe Verdi was requested to compose this opera by Teatro di San Carlo in Naples, Italy. Casa Ricordi, “Verdi’s publisher” for over 180 years, is pleased to be the point of reference for any kind of Verdian project.The original work of this opera is based on the incident about the assassination of King Gustav III of Sweden at the masked ball. The publisher’s commitment, constant during the composer’s career, is still continuing today with the monumental copublication of Verdi's works with The University of Chicago Press, and with several operas edited under the aegis of Casa Ricordi and available for hire, both in critical editions. In the course of the over half-century of career between those two dates, Verdi maintained a close working relationship with Casa Ricordi, his principal publisher. And when in February 1893 the almost eighty-year-old Verdi presented his last masterpiece, Falstaff, at La Scala, Giulio Ricordi (Giovanni’s grandson) was delighted to have been the architect of the artistic partnership between the grand old man of Italian music and the brilliant librettist Arrigo Boito, to have persuaded Verdi to resume work as an opera composer. When in 1839 Oberto Conte di San Bonifacio, the debut opera by a twenty-six-year-old from Busseto, held the stage of La Scala for fourteen performances, Giovanni Ricordi wasted no time in acquiring the work.

Giuseppe verdi opera