“What a magical performance!” – a voice from the audience immediately after Verdi’s Un ballo in Maschera. Saturday night’s premiere of the opera at the Centre Court and the finale of this year’s Birgit Nilsson Days was full of drama. Both on stage and backstage. First, the Spanish tenor Sergio Escobar saved the evening with a late appearance in the title role of Gustav III. His tenor colleague, American Michael Fabiano, was indisposed during the week’s rehearsals. But before the last act, Escobar’s voice suddenly stopped. After the intermission – as ominous black clouds rolled in from the sea and lightning flashed – Fabiano reappeared and died on stage at the end, as the role demands (directed by Staffan Valdemar Holm).

Big cheers for everyone involved – Joyce El-Khoury, Fredrik Zetterström, Daniela Barcellona (who was called in earlier in the week), Marina Monzó, Anton Ljungqvist, Anders Lorentzson, Magnus Lindegård, Theodor Uggla, Helsingborg Symphony Orchestra, chorus members from the choirs of Skåne. And last but not least, maestro Pier Giorgio Morandi. That Morandi is an unrivalled specialist in Italian opera and that Joyce El-Khoury has become a great audience favourite during the Birgit Nilsson days (this was her third major performance in a row!) was hardly lost on anyone. And what about the rain? Fortunately it passed thanks to the heights of the Bjäre Peninsula and Birgit up in her heaven!

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FULL UN BALLO IN MASCHERA Båstad 2024 Michael Fabiano, Sergio Escobar, Joyce El-Khoury, Fredrik Zetterström, Daniela Barcellona

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