Verdi: Nabucco

Desire, love and betrayal

Borrowing a story from the Old Testament, »Nabucco« brings great emotions to the opera stage: love, hate, betrayal, jealousy, desire, vengefulness, madness and lust for power. Before writing the opera, Giuseppe Verdi had reached rock bottom, both personally and professionally. His wife and two daughters had all died within just a few years. But the libretto for »Nabucco« inspired Verdi, and his passion for his craft returned. It would become Verdi’s first major success on the opera stage. Premiered at La Scala in Milan in 1842, »Nabucco« was so successful that it was repeated 57 times in the following season. This triumph marked the beginning of the great era of Verdi operas. The extraordinary Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves from the third act has become one of the best-known choral works in the opera world.