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In 1857, Italian composer Giuseppe Verdi (1813–1901) adapted 𝘜𝘯 𝘉𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘰 𝘪𝘯 𝘔𝘢𝘴𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘢 from 𝘎𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘐𝘐𝘐; 𝘰𝘶, 𝘓𝘦 𝘉𝘢𝘭 𝘔𝘢𝘴𝘲𝘶é, an opera by French composer Daniel-François-Esprit Auber (1782–1871) and French librettist Augustin-Eugène Scribe (1791–1861). Auber and Scribe’s opera was based on the assassination of King Gustavus III of Sweden (1746–92) during a masked ball at the Royal Swedish Opera house. For the October 2014 production by San Francisco Opera, Mexican tenor Ramón Vargas (b. 1960) played Gustavus III, King of Sweden. Adler Fellowship Program graduate Julianna Di Giacomo (b. 1975) made her San Francisco Opera debut as Amelia Anckarström, a character that Verdi created as the third point in a fictional, ill-fated relationship between King Gustavus III and Swedish military officer Jacob Johan Anckarström (1762–92). The extravagant costumes in the 2014 rendition of 𝘉𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘰, including the opulent gown worn by Di Giacomo were originally designed by American designer John Conklin (b. 1937) for a San Francisco Opera production in 1977. Learn more about San Francisco Opera’s history in our exhibition “San Francisco Opera: A Centennial Celebration” on display, post-security, in Harvey Milk Terminal 1 and online at: https://bit.ly/SFOperaCentennial
This image was posted on June 28, 2023.