Ball will write, exec produce and direct Virtuoso, an hourlong period drama that is set against the complex and volatile backdrop of 18th century Vienna. Virtuoso follows a class of young musical prodigies from all over Europe at the prestigious Academy of Musical Excellence.
Elton John and his husband, David Furnish, are on board to produce alongside Ball and his partner and frequent collaborator Peter Macdissi (Banshee, True Blood, Six Feet Under), who will also star. Ball, Macdissi and Ball's Rocket Pictures CEO Steve Hamilton Shaw created the pilot story. Ball penned the script. All five will exec produce. Production on the pilot will take place in the spring in Budapest.
Macdissi, who has had on-screen roles on Banshee, True Blood and Six Feet Under, will star as Salieri, an accomplished composer and conductor who is appointed by the dying Emperor Joseph I to start the university to honor Joseph's legacy. Iva Babic will play Leonid, a Russian cello prodigy. Francois Civil will portray Isidoro, a guitar and flute prodigy who was brought up in a rural beach town in Spain with no formal music training.
Lindsay Farris will play Heinrich, an Austrian piano prodigy; Nico Mirallegro will be Franz, a self-taught violin prodigy who comes from nothing; and Alex Lawther will portray Battista, a Castrato prodigy who comes from a poor farming family in Florence but has had free education thanks to his singing ability.
Elton John and his husband, David Furnish, are on board to produce alongside Ball and his partner and frequent collaborator Peter Macdissi (Banshee, True Blood, Six Feet Under), who will also star. Ball, Macdissi and Ball's Rocket Pictures CEO Steve Hamilton Shaw created the pilot story. Ball penned the script. All five will exec produce. Production on the pilot will take place in the spring in Budapest.
Macdissi, who has had on-screen roles on Banshee, True Blood and Six Feet Under, will star as Salieri, an accomplished composer and conductor who is appointed by the dying Emperor Joseph I to start the university to honor Joseph's legacy. Iva Babic will play Leonid, a Russian cello prodigy. Francois Civil will portray Isidoro, a guitar and flute prodigy who was brought up in a rural beach town in Spain with no formal music training.
Lindsay Farris will play Heinrich, an Austrian piano prodigy; Nico Mirallegro will be Franz, a self-taught violin prodigy who comes from nothing; and Alex Lawther will portray Battista, a Castrato prodigy who comes from a poor farming family in Florence but has had free education thanks to his singing ability.
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Ooo period piece set in Vienna? I'm intrigued, I visited a few years ago and love all the classical music and learning about their royal family.
ReplyDeleteI watch empire and I love nashville so im happy for another music drama hopefully it's picked up
ReplyDeleteDoesn't sound particularly interesting now, but hopefully that'll change.
ReplyDeleteI can see TV shows about music are on the rise, but was not expecting something as interesting as this! It will def set itself apart since it's a period drama as well!!
ReplyDeleteInteresting concept... it definitely could be fun... and there's enough talent behind the project for it to work.
ReplyDeleteColour me intrigued.
Too bad they're not actually filming in Vienna.
ReplyDeleteSince Joseph was also our king, I´m very interested in how they will portray him and his family. Let´s hope that being filmed in Hungary, also a place under his rule, will mean someone who actually knows something about it will partake.
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