Editing Un ballo in maschera (section)

==Composition history==
: ''For a full account of the evolution of the opera which eventually became ''Un ballo in maschera'', see [[Gustavo III (Verdi)]]''

===1857: From ''Gustavo III'' to ''Una vendetta in domino''===
A commission by the [[Teatro San Carlo]] in [[Naples]] in early 1857 led Verdi to begin to oversee the finalization of the libretto (also by Somma) for ''[[Re Lear]]'' with the aim of presenting the finished opera during the 1858 carnival season. When this proved to be impracticable, Verdi turned to the subject of King Gustav III's assassination as portrayed in Scribe and Auber's opera, albeit not an historically accurate narrative. That subject was well known and had been used by other composers, including [[Saverio Mercadante]] for his ''Il reggente'' in 1843.
[[File:Verdi and Naples censor-caricature by Delfico.jpg|thumb|200px|Verdi and the Naples censor when preparing "Ballo", 1857–58, caricature by [[Melchiorre Delfico (caricaturist)|Delfico]]]]
For the libretto, Scribe retained the names of some of the historical figures involved (including fortune teller [[Ulrica Arfvidsson]]), the conspiracy, and the killing at the masked ball, but, as noted by [[Julian Budden|Budden]], "it was a simple case of 'cherchez la femme'": for the rest of the play Scribe invented the romance between the King and the fictional Amélie,<ref>Patrick Dillon, "Unlucky Lady: Who is Amelia?", ''Opera News'', December 2012, Vol. 77, #6, p. 20: Dillon notes that "it doesn't matter that there was, historically, no "real" Amelia" and further that, for Scribe, "convention demanded a leading lady" therefore "Amélie, comtesse d'Ankastrom" in Auber's opera.</ref> the wife of the king's secretary and best friend, and adds characters and situations such as Oscar, the page boy.{{sfn|Budden|1984|p=364}}

Somma's new libretto, known as ''Gustavo III'', was presented to the censors in Naples by late 1857. By November, Verdi informed Somma that objections had been raised and revisions demanded by the censors, the most significant of which was the refusal to allow the depiction of a monarch on the stage - and especially the monarch's murder.<ref name="Gossett1">{{harvnb|Gossett|2006|p=497}}</ref> As had happened with ''[[Rigoletto]]'', changes in characters' names and titles were proposed (the King of Sweden became the Duke of Pomerania; [[Jacob Johan Anckarström|Anckarström]] became Count Renato) and the location was moved from Stockholm to Stettin.

Working together with Somma over Christmas, Verdi accommodated these changes. Somma was asked to change the names of the characters on the ''Gustave'' libretto while Verdi worked on completing sketches of the music.  The name of the opera became ''Una vendetta in domino''.

By 9 January 1858, prior to setting out for Naples, Verdi wrote from his home to the San Carlo that "the opera is done and even here I am working on the full score".<ref name="Gossett1"/> The composer then travelled to Naples and rehearsals of ''Una vendetta'' were about to begin when, on 14 January 1858, three Italians attempted to assassinate Emperor [[Napoleon III]] in Paris, an event which was to affect the opera's production.

===1858: The censor blocks ''Una vendetta''===
The imposition of still further, more stringent requirements by the censor<ref>Verdi to Somma, 7 February 1858 {{harvnb|Werfel|Stefan|1973|p=207}}: "I'm drowning in a sea of troubles. It's almost certain that the censors will forbid our libretto."</ref> incurred Verdi's wrath.  He broke his contract, returned to Sant'Agata in April, and was sued by the management of the San Carlo house.  This provoked him to lodge a counter-claim against the theatre for damages and, eventually, the legal fight ended.

It was during this period of turmoil that Verdi was to describe the previous sixteen years of his composing life: in a letter to Countess Clara Maffei, he states: "From ''[[Nabucco]]'', you may say, I have never had one hour of peace. Sixteen years in the galleys!"<ref name="VtoM">Verdi to Clara Maffei, 12 May 1858, in {{harvnb|Phillips-Matz|1993|p=379}}</ref><ref>[[Philip Gossett]], "Giuseppe Verdi and the Italian Risorgimento", ''[[Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society]]'', vol. 156, no. 3, September 2012: Gossett notes: "Yet Verdi's only use of the expression is in a letter of 1858 to his Milanese friend Clarina Maffei, where it refers to all his operas through ''Un ballo in maschera'': it laments the social circumstances in which Italian composers worked in the mid-nineteenth century, rather than judging aesthetic value."</ref>

===1859: ''Una vendetta'' becomes ''Un ballo in maschera''===
When the legal issues were resolved within a few months, Verdi was free to present the libretto and musical outline of ''Gustave III'' (which was basically ''Una vendetta'' with characters' names and locations changed){{sfn|Gossett|2006|p=499}} to the [[Teatro dell'Opera di Roma|Rome Opera]].  There, the censors demanded further changes. Removing the action from Europe, the location became Boston during the British colonial period and the leading character became Riccardo, the Count (or Earl) of Warwick. At this point, the opera became ''Un ballo in maschera'' set in North America.