"Virtuoso," a period drama created by Alan Ball, from "True Blood," and co-produced by Elton John, has received a pilot order from the American cable network.
Set in 18th-century Vienna, "Virtuoso" will follow a group of musical prodigies who have traveled from all over Europe to study under professor and composer Antonio Salieri at the Academy of Musical Excellence.
In the title role as Salieri is Alan Ball's partner and regular collaborator Peter Macdissi, who has appeared in episodes of "Six Feet Under" and "True Blood" and is also a co-producer on Ball's latest project, "Banshee."
He will be joined by French actor François Civil - from "Rosemary's Baby" - as the Spanish flutist and guitarist Isidoro. Australian actor Lindsay Farris, from "The Code", as the Austrian piano prodigy Heinrich with British actor Nico Mirallegro as Franz, a self-taught violinist who is also from Austria. Alex Lawther - notably from "The Imitation Game" - will play Battista, a castrato from Florence, while Iva Babic will play Leonid, a gifted Russian cellist.
HBO has ordered the pilot episode, which will be shot this spring in Budapest. Ball and Macdissi are producing the series alongside Elton John and his husband David Furnish. The recording artist's involvement calls to mind another musical series in development at HBO: the 1970s rock drama produced by Mick Jagger and Martin Scorsese.
