Luciano Pavarotti, in his first Met Ballo heads an illustrious cast in the revolutionary production of Verdi's opera. His portrayal of the ill-fated Riccardo is "peerless Pavarotti". Katia Ricciarelli ("...a brilliant lyric spinto soprano...used to impressive effect...") is heard in her first Amelia at the Metropolitan Opera. Louis Quilico ("...his 'Eri tu?' was one of the real highlights of the evening..."), Judith Blegen ("...focal point of pure light.") and Bianca Berini ("...sang with taste and authority.") round out the cast. For his Metropolitan Operal debut, Elijah Moshinsky places his provocative Un Ballo in Maschera in 18th-Century Boston, on the eve of the American Revolution. It's a time of unrest and transition, when the conflict between civic obligation and personal desire is drawn into even sharper focus. Moshinsky's interpretation of the 1859 classic strips away all the familiar conventions and, as Andrew Porter in The New Yorker sums it up, we see "Verdi's opera to be (in Shaw's words for The Ring) a work 'frightfully real, frightfully present, frightfully modern'...this is a Ballo about things that matter." This presentation of Un Ballo in Maschera is subtitled in English and was taped during the February 16, 1980 performance at the Metropolitan Opera. No material was taken from rehearsals, other performances, or remake recording sessions.