Nabucco was only Verdi's third opera, but became one of his biggest, most lasting successes. It seems he was
pressed to consider the subject by Merelli, the Scala's director circa 1840.
Various stories about the opera became legend, especially the one that Verdi
convinced himself to compose the music when he accidentally saw the words to
the Chorus of Hebrew Slaves fall open in the libretto he was given. It now
seems more likely that enthusiasm for this chorus was generated by the audience
reaction when they saw the metaphoric link between their suppressed national
identity under the Austrian Hapsburg rule, and the subjugated Hebrews under the
foreign domination of the Babylonians under Nebuchadnezzar their king portrayed
onstage. The king's name is shortened to Nabucco to make it more wieldly.
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| Leo Nucci as Nabucco |
King Nabucco, has two daughters: Abigaile, the
star soprano, and Fenena, an alto part. At war with the Babylonians, the Jews
have captured Fenena, who had fallen in love with the nephew of the Jewish
king, Ismaele—the tenor. Nabucco, with Abigaile and some disguised soldiers,
stealthily enters the Temple at Jerusalem. When Fenena admits her love for
Ismaele, the Babylonians destroy the Temple. And since this affair between
Ismaele and Fenena has allowed this destruction, the Jewish high priest
Zaccharia curses Ismaele as a traitor.
In Act 2, at Babylon, Nabucco puts Fenena in
charge of the Hebrews as Abigaile finds evidence that she is of slave birth and
bewails the fact Nabucco has kept her out of the fighting. The High Priest of
Baal tells Abigaile that Fenena has released the Hebrew prisoners, and that he
wants her to rule Babylon, spreading the lie that Nabucco has been killed.
Abigaile sings of her own ambition to rule. Zaccharia, now captive in Babylon,
discovers Fenena's conversion to Judaism, and prevents reprisals of the Jews
against Ismaile.
Abdallo, a solider, announces Nabucco's death
and Abigaile's plans to seize power. As Abigaile enters and demands the
Babylonian crown from Fenena, Nabucco appears and declares himself not only
king, but god. Fenena sides within the Jews, which incenses her father further.
In a crash of thunder he is punished for his hubris and is driven mad and
Abigaile seizes the crown.
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| Liudmyla Monastyrska as Abigaille |
In Act 3, the now raving Nabucco sees Fenena
consigned to death, and prays to Jehovah to save his only daughter, whose death
warrant he has been tricked by Abigaile to sign. He challenges Abigaile with
being only a slave, but Abigaile has the only corroborating document and
destroys it. Nabucco is helpless to save Fenena. Abigaile is unrelenting. The
famous scene follows with the Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves. Zaccharia consoles
them that Yahweh will help them.
In the final Act, Nabucco is still mad, but
promises to follow the Jewish god if Fenena is to be saved somehow. He will
restore the Jewish temple and convert to Judaism. He is miraculously restored,
and freed by Abdallo, and plans to go to save Fenena. Nabucco discovers his
daughter preparing to die, but he rushes in to save her and then orders the
destruction of Baal, which is preempted when the idol shatters. Nabucco frees
the Israelites, and Zaccharias hails Nabucco as true king and divine servant of
Jehovah. Abigaile enters in remorse. She has poisoned herself and begs
forgiveness of Fenena, begs for divine mercy and dies.
I suspect Verdi had his initial difficulties
with the complex plot because the dramatic developments, especially later in
the piece, show the actions of the deity in miraculous events, such as the restoration
of Nabucco's sanity—if not already in its being removed in the first place—and
the destruction of the idol of Baal at the end of the opera. In few other
places in Verdi do we see the direct influence of any active deity like this.
The gods, or God, is mostly a mute figure, passionately addressed or prayed to,
but is never elsewhere represented as being responsive, except in ironic plot
twists, that rather serve to undermine any assurance that there is a god there.
Verdi was himself a religious skeptic, but obscured this mind-set from his
public for obvious reasons.
There are few pieces of music so enmeshed with
a national political movement vying for the formation of a nation as this
opera. The Risorgimento, the movement to establish Italy as a
sovereign nation, eventually took up the chorus of Hebrew Slaves as its
official anthem, and the opera was made especially famous throughout the years
during which Italy achieved its nationhood.
As usual, personal passion is inextricably tied
up with politics and public life in a mixture that is to become ever more
familiar in Verdi's operas.
The production on show here has already garnered
much attention and praise since its premiere to simultaneous worldwide cinema
presentation in the debut season of this format in April 2013. Although it
is still an early work, the politico-historical significance of this piece has
always served it to remain relatively current in opera productions since its
debut.
Michael Doleschell keeps mostly to non-fiction, and is
deeply devoted to music and culture and never tires of history, and is
fascinated by science and the scientific method [as long as they are well
explained]. He broadcasts a program of Classical Music for 3 hours every
Saturday afternoon from noon till 3 on the U of G's Radio Station: CFRU.
