Elton John And "True Blood" Creator Alan Ball Tapped For HBO's Period Drama "Virtuoso"
Pardon our squeals, but HBO has just greenlit a new period drama, Virtuoso, produced by power couple Elton John and David Furnish and True Blood creator Alan Ball.
The series will be set against the "complex and volatile backdrop of 18th century Vienna," and will follow a class of young musical prodigies from all over Europe at the prestigious Academy of Musical Excellence.
Related: Ball's partner, actor Peter Macdissi (True Blood, Six Feet Under), will star as real-life composer Antonio Salieri, who started a conservatory in honor of Emperor Joseph I. Other cast members include Iva Babic as cello prodigy Leonid, Francois Civil as prized flutist Isidoro, Lindsay Farris as piano wunderkind Heinrich and Nico Mirallegro as Franz, a self-taught violin prodigy who comes from meager beginnings. We're really intrigued by the character of Battista (Alex Lawther), a Castrato prodigy (which means sex scenes might prove... problematic.)
No word on whether Sir Elton will pen original music for the show, but at the very least can we please, please, get a guest appearance?
