--- description: The new musical drama is to be named 'Virtuoso' and will be set in 18th century Vienna. title: Elton John Teams Up With 'True Blood' Creator Alan Ball image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt94cf82e92bcd61fb/69877c45cd1bba897a6f4e66/460948102.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Elton John and _True Blood_ Creator Alan Ball Are Doing a Pilot and It Sounds Amazing by [Helen Regan](/author/helen-regan/) ## Helen Regan Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jan 28, 2015 4:07 AM CUT  Musician Elton John performs at the Barclays Center on December 31, 2014 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. Musician Elton John performs at the Barclays Center on December 31, 2014 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City.Desiree Navarro—WireImage by [Helen Regan](/author/helen-regan/) ## Helen Regan Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jan 28, 2015 4:07 AM CUT _True Blood_ creator Alan Ball is set to write and direct a new [musical](http://variety.com/2015/tv/news/hbo-virtuoso-pilot-order-alan-ball-elton-john-1201415580/ "undefined") drama named _Virtuoso_ set in 18th century Vienna, for HBO. Elton John and husband David Furnish are on board to produce with Ball and Peter Macdissi, who will also star in the pilot. HBO has given the go ahead for the hour-long pilot, which follows a class of young musical prodigies from across Europe at the Academy of Musical Excellence. The cast includes Alex Lawther, (_Imitation Game_) Francois Civil, (_Rosemary’s Baby_) British actor Nico Marallegro and Australian actor Lindsay Farris. Production of the pilot begins in the spring in Budapest. \[[_Variety_](http://variety.com/2015/tv/news/hbo-virtuoso-pilot-order-alan-ball-elton-john-1201415580/ "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3685361/elton-john-and-true-blood-creator-alan-ball-are-doing-a-pilot-and-it-sounds-amazing/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3685361/elton-john-and-true-blood-creator-alan-ball-are-doing-a-pilot-and-it-sounds-amazing/"},"headline":"Elton John and True Blood Creator Alan Ball Are Doing a Pilot and It Sounds Amazing","datePublished":"2015-01-28T04:07:57.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T03:55:54.210Z","description":"The drama will depict the lives of a class of musical prodigies in 18th century Vienna","url":"https://time.com/3685361/elton-john-and-true-blood-creator-alan-ball-are-doing-a-pilot-and-it-sounds-amazing/","keywords":["Television","Music","elton john"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt94cf82e92bcd61fb/69877c45cd1bba897a6f4e66/460948102.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Helen Regan","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/helen-regan/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt94cf82e92bcd61fb/69877c45cd1bba897a6f4e66/460948102.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Elton John Performs His First New Year's Eve Concert In New York City","caption":"Elton John Performs His First New Year's Eve Concert In New York City","creditText":"Desiree Navarro—WireImage","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3685361/elton-john-and-true-blood-creator-alan-ball-are-doing-a-pilot-and-it-sounds-amazing/","name":"Elton John and True Blood Creator Alan Ball Are Doing a Pilot and It Sounds Amazing"}}]}] ```