Alan Ball, Elton John & David Furnish to Create HBO Show

Photo: From the film 'Mozart's Sister'

Although we knew Alan Ball (True Blood, American Beauty) was directing a new movie when we spoke to him this past fall -- I Am Chippendales, which was slated to begin production in October -- Ball also told us he was hard at work on a new pilot for HBO based on an idea from Elton John's production company. Now, we finally know more.

Set in 18th-century Vienna, Virtuoso follows a class of musicians from all across Europe at the prestigious Academy of Musical Excellence. So does that mean we get a lot of Amadeus-inspired scamps running around with powdered wigs -- and then hopping into bed with one another while snapping their garters?

According to Variety, there will be another familiar face as well: Peter Macdissi (who worked with Ball on Six Feet Under and True Blood) will star in the pilot. The pilot will be shot in Budapest this spring. Macdissi will also serve as exec producer, alongside Ball, John, David Furnish, and Steve Hamilton Shaw. Macdissi, Shaw and Ball will pen the pilot. No word yet on when it will premiere.