Nabucco
Nabucco was Verdi's third opera. He wrote it after the failure of his second opera and after the death of his wife and children. He was discouraged and thought he would abandon the art form. The devoted La Scala opera manager, Bartolomeo Merelli, insisted he write another opera and had pushed the libretto of Nabucco into Verdi's hands. Verdi tossed it aside and it fell open to the page that held Va pensiero ... The rest is history, the lyrics lit a fire in his brain and the score flowed out.
In the mid 1800's when he wrote Nabucco, Europe was in a revolutionary period. The second part of the French revolution was brewing and the multiple Italian city/states and duchies were struggling to unify against French and Austrian interests.
Verdi chose to speak out in favor of the Risorgimento by using Jeremiah's telling of of the Babylonian enslavement of the Jews as his vehicle.
In Nabucco, the story is driven by two sub-plots. The first is of Nabucco's sacking of the Temple of Solomon and the subsequent capture of the Hebrew slaves. Nabucco's hubris drives him to declare himself a god, for which he is struck by a lightning bolt that drives him mad. He loses control of his kingdom to his illegitimate daughter, Abagaille. Eventually, he repents and converts and his sanity and kingdom are returned.
The other sub-plot is a love triangle between Nabucco's legal daughter, Fenena, the aforementioned Abagaille and the Hebrew slave and nephew of King Zedekiah, Ismaele. Ismaele and Fenena have fallen in love with each other, but Abagaille also loves Ismaele. After Abagaille wrests the crown from the enfeebled Nabucco, she seeks to execute Fenena and all the Hebrew slaves. Abagaille offers Ismaele the power to free the slaves if he gives his love to Abagaille. Ismaele declines.
Please peruse the material below to prepare for the opera showing. Sir Pappano and the Royal Opera do a good job of explaining the background and their commentary applies to any production, not just theirs. Of particular interest is the last video clip, which makes the argument for the timeless nature of Nabucco. Indeed, it can be set in almost any time and place and remain relevant.
Geographical context for Babylonian invasion and sack of Jeruselem. Today, this is an 1100 kM trip (680 miles). Quite a long way for an ancient army to march. Even more grueling for an enslaved nation.
Nabucco version to be presented
Nabucco staged at the Opern Festspiele St. Margarethen. The venue, St. Margarathen, was built inside an abandoned Roman quarry in Austria. It's a stunning backdrop for any opera performance. Click on the venue image to open the opera. Once started, click on the CC icon to enable captions, then on the settings wheel to select English subtitles.
Runtime: 2 hrs, 2 mins
Igor Morosow - Nabucco
Simon Yang - Zaccaria
Bruno Ribeiro - Ismaele, son of Zedekiah, king of Jeruselem
Gabriella Morigi - Abigaille
Elisabeth Kulman - Fenena
Orchestra of the National Theatre Brno
Ernst Märzendorfer - conductor
Nabucco libretto in English
Sir Antonio Pappano provides a short synopsis of Nabucco.
Royal Opera cast members describe their characters. Most of what they share applies to any production of Nabucco.
Score for Va pensiero. Arrangement for four voices and piano. The four voices are orchestrated in unison for greater impact and textual understanding. The result was a very memorable song. It would later be sung back to Verdi all along his funeral procession route when he died.
Va pensiero Lyrics Wallet Card
Print, cut out, fold, keep in wallet. In case you stumble upon an active Va pensiero flash mob, take out this handy aid and sing along at the top of your lungs!
Royal Opera cast members explain the why Nabucco exists outside of time and place.
Indeed, there are numerous productions of Nabucco on Youtube. Most will not have English subtitles, but the story is straight forward enough to follow without them. Take note of the artistic creativity the various companies have demonstrated in the many productions available.