Nabucco

It was his first major success, as it were his breakthrough: Nabucco, premiered at La Scala in Milan in spring 1842, marks the beginning of Giuseppe Verdi's brilliant career, who was to become the leading Italian opera composer almost unrivalled over several decades. Set in Jerusalem and Babylon during biblical times, Nabucco focuses on the fate of two peoples and cultures, but also the arrogance of the eponymous protagonist, who declares himself a god in his excess and then falls into madness. Tableaus of solemn gestures and haunting music — such as the famous “Va Pensiero” — Choir of the Captive Hebrews — stand alongside scenes of intense expression, filled with drama and passion.