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{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2022}}▼
▲{{Short description|Opera by Giuseppe Verdi}}
{{For|the natural gas pipeline|Nabucco pipeline}}
{{good article}}
▲{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2022}}
{{Infobox opera
| name = Nabucco
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| based_on = [[Play (theatre)|Play]] by [[Auguste Anicet-Bourgeois]] and [[Francis Cornu]], as well as Antonio Cortese's ballet adaptation
| premiere_date = {{Start date|1842|03|09|df=y}}
| premiere_location = [[La Scala]], Milan
}}
'''''Nabucco''''' ({{IPA-it|naˈbukko}}, short for '''Nabucodonosor''' {{IPA-it|naˌbukoˈdɔːnozor, -donoˈzɔr|}}; {{lang-en|"[[Nebuchadnezzar II|Nebuchadnezzar]]"}}) is an Italian-language [[opera]] in four acts composed in 1841 by [[Giuseppe Verdi]] to an Italian [[libretto]] by [[Temistocle Solera]]. The libretto is based on the biblical books of [[Books of Kings|2 Kings]], [[Book of Jeremiah|Jeremiah]], [[Book of Lamentations|Lamentations]], and [[Book of Daniel|Daniel]], and on the 1836 play by [[Auguste Anicet-Bourgeois]] and [[Francis Cornu]]. However, Antonio Cortese's ballet adaptation of the play (with its necessary simplifications), given at [[La Scala]] in 1836, was a more important source for Solera than the play itself.{{sfn|Budden|1973|p=95}} Under its original name of ''Nabucodonosor'', the opera was first performed at La Scala in Milan on 9 March 1842.
''Nabucco'' is the opera that is considered to have permanently established Verdi's reputation as a composer. He commented that "this is the opera with which my artistic career really begins. And though I had many difficulties to fight against, it is certain that ''Nabucco'' was born under a lucky star."<ref name="WERF"/>
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The success of Verdi's first opera, ''[[Oberto (opera)|Oberto]]'', led [[Bartolomeo Merelli]], [[La Scala]]'s impresario, to offer Verdi a contract for three more works. After the failure of his second opera ''[[Un giorno di regno]]'' (completed in 1840 towards the end of a brutal two-year period during which both of his infant children and then his 26-year-old wife died), Verdi vowed never to compose again.<ref name="WERF" />
In "An Autobiographical Sketch", written in 1879, Verdi tells the story of how he came to be twice persuaded by Merelli to change his mind and to write the opera.<ref name="WERF">Verdi, "An Autobiographical Sketch" 1879 in {{harvnb|Werfel|Stefan|1973|pp=87–92}}. See also
After a chance meeting with Merelli close to La Scala, the impresario gave him a copy of [[Temistocle Solera]]'s libretto which had been rejected by the composer [[Otto Nicolai]].<ref name="WERF"/> Verdi describes how he took it home, and threw "it on the table with an almost violent gesture. ... In falling, it had opened of itself; without my realising it, my eyes clung to the open page and to one special line: 'Va, pensiero, sull'ali dorate'."<ref name="W&S">{{harvnb|Werfel|Stefan|1973|pp=88–90}}</ref>
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While it has been noted that "Verdi read it enthusiastically"<ref name="VERDI.IT"/> (and certainly he states that, while he attempted to sleep, he was kept awake and read and re-read the libretto three times), others have stated that he read the libretto very reluctantly<ref name="HOLD">{{harvnb|Kimbell|2001|pp=978–979}}</ref> or, as recounted by Lessona, that he "threw the libretto in a corner without looking at it anymore, and for the next five months he carried on with his reading of bad novels ... [when] towards the end of May he found himself with that blessed play in his hands: he read the last scene over again, the one with the death of Abigaille (which was later cut), seated himself almost mechanically at the piano ... and set the scene to music."{{sfn|Lessona|1869|pp=297–298}}{{sfn|Budden|1973|p=92}}<ref name="VERDI.IT"/>
Nevertheless, Verdi still refused to compose the music, taking the manuscript back to the impresario the next day. But Merelli would not accept the refusal; he immediately stuffed the papers back into Verdi's pocket and according to the composer, "not only threw me out of his office, but slammed the door in my face and locked himself in".<ref name="W&S"/> Verdi claims that gradually he worked on the music: "This verse today, tomorrow that, here a note, there a whole phrase, and little by little the opera was written"
==Performance history==
[[File:Disegno per copertina di libretto, disegno di Peter Hoffer per Nabucco (1954) - Archivio Storico Ricordi ICON012389.jpg|thumb|
===19th century===
The opening performances, limited to only eight because the season was coming to an end, were "a colossal success."<ref name="VERDI.IT"/> But, when the new season opened on 13 August 1842, around 60 performances had been added by the end of that year. Numerous Italian and foreign theatres put on this opera in the years immediately following, including [[La Fenice]] in Venice in December 1842. In 1843, [[Gaetano Donizetti|Donizetti]] conducted it in Vienna, and other stagings took place that year in Lisbon and Cagliari. But the definitive name of ''Nabucco'' for the opera (and its protagonist) was first used at a performance at the [[Nobile Teatro di San Giacomo di Corfù|San Giacomo Theatre]] of [[Corfu]] in September 1844.<ref name="VERDI.IT">[http://www.giuseppeverdi.it/visInglese/page.asp?IDCategoria=3648&IDSezione=25415 "''Nabucodonosor'': History"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131219082600/http://www.giuseppeverdi.it/visInglese/page.asp?IDCategoria=3648&IDSezione=25415 |date=19 December 2013 }} on giuseppeverdi.it, in English. Retrieved 1 April 2013.</ref> Nonetheless, a more plausible alternative for the establishment of this abbreviated form claims that it was the result of a revival of the opera in [[Teatro del Giglio]] of [[Lucca]].{{sfn|Budden|1985|p=20}}
The opera was first given in London at [[Her Majesty's Theatre]] on 3 March 1846 under the name of ''Nino'', since the depiction of biblical characters on stage "was not considered proper".{{sfn|Budden|1973|p=112}}<ref>"Her Majesty's Theatre", ''[[The Times]]'', 4 March 1846, p. 5</ref> In the US it appeared at the [[Astor Opera House]] in New York on 4 April 1848.<ref name="HOLD" />
===20th century and beyond===
''Nabucco'' is frequently heard around the world today. It has been on the [[Metropolitan Opera]]'s roster since it was first presented there during the 1960/61 season.<ref>[[Metropolitan Opera]], [http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/frame.htm Search: Nabucco]; [http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/Database%20Opera%20Statistics.xml Repertory Statistics]</ref> When the Metropolitan opened its season in September 2001, eleven days after [[World Trade Center (1973–2001)#Destruction|the destruction of the World Trade Center]], the chorus began by singing "Va, pensiero" in honor of the victims of the attack.<ref>[[Alex Ross (music critic)|Ross, Alex]], ''Listen to This'', p. 203, Picador (2011)</ref>
''Nabucco'' is also regularly performed at the [[Arena di Verona]].<ref>[[Arena di Verona]], [http://www.arena.it/it-IT/archivio-spettacoli.html Performance archives] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101206015040/http://www.arena.it/it-IT/archivio-spettacoli.html |date=6 December 2010 }}</ref> Among the performances preserved on DVD are those at the Arena di Verona (1981 and 2007); La Scala (1987), [[Opera Australia]] (1996), [[Vienna State Opera]] (2001), Metropolitan Opera (2002), [[Genoa]]'s [[Teatro Carlo Felice]] (2004), Teatro Municipale di [[Piacenza]] (2004), and Austria's St. Margarethen Opera Festival (2007).<ref>[[Royal Opera House]] [https://archive.today/20070703201940/http://www.rohshop.org/acatalog/info-69.html DVD Catalog]</ref>
Many other companies have also performed it, including [[San Francisco Opera]] in 1982, [[Sarasota Opera]] in 1995 and 2019, London's [[Royal Opera House]] in 1996, [[Lyric Opera of Chicago]] in 1997 and 2016,<ref>Von Rhein, John (22 September 1997). [http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1997-09-22/features/9709220197_1_lyric-opera-civic-opera-house-chorus "Striking Opening For Lyric"]. ''[[Chicago Tribune]]''</ref> the [[New National Theatre Tokyo]] in 1998, [[Teatro Colón]] in 2000, [[Baltimore Opera]] in 2006, and the [[Teatro Regio di Parma]] in 2008 as part of their on-going "Festival Verdi".<ref>[https://www.teatroregioparma.it/en/festival-verdi-2008-en/ "Festival Verdi 2008"], [[Teatro Regio (Parma)]]</ref> ''Nabucco'' was presented by the [[Michigan Opera Theatre]] and the [[San Diego Opera]] as part of their 2009–2010 seasons.<ref>[https://www.downriversundaytimes.com/2009/10/24/%E2%80%98nabucco%E2%80%99-debuted-at-detroit-opera-house/ "Nabucco" debuted at Detroit Opera House] Downriver Sunday Times 24 October 2009</ref> The [[Israeli Opera]] celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2010 with ''Nabucco'' at [[Masada]],<ref>[https://www.israel-opera.co.il/eng/?CategoryID=723&ArticleID=2012 Nabucco / Giuseppe Verdi] [[Israeli Opera]]</ref> and performed it again in June 2019, accompanied by the [[Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra]], in the [[Sultan's Pool]], just outside the wall surrounding the [[Old City
==Roles==
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|Abdallo, ''Babylonian soldier''
|[[tenor]]
|
|-
|High priest of [[
|[[bass (voice type)|bass]]
|[[Gaetano Rossi]]
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| colspan="3"|''People, soldiers''
|}
==Instrumentation==▼
''Nabucco'' is scored for two [[Western concert flute|flute]]s (one doubling [[piccolo]]), two [[oboe]]s (one doubling [[English horn]]), two [[clarinet]]s
== Synopsis ==
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''Scene 1: Royal apartments in Babylon''
Nabucco has appointed Fenena regent and guardian of the Israelite prisoners, while he continues the battle against the Israelites. Abigaille has discovered a document that proves she is not Nabucco's real daughter, but the daughter of slaves. She reflects bitterly on Nabucco's refusal to allow her to play a role in the war with the Israelites and recalls past happiness ("Anch'io dischiuso un giorno" / "I too once opened my heart to happiness"). The High Priest of
''Scene 2: A room in the palace''
[[File:Nabucco hpo 622.jpg|thumb|Nabucco's mad scene with {{ill|Bastiaan Everink|nl}} in the title role]]
Zaccaria reads over the Tablets of Law ("Vieni, o Levita" / "Come, oh [[Levite]]!"), then goes to summon Fenena. A group of Levites accuse Ismaele of treachery. Zaccaria returns with Fenena and his sister Anna. Anna tells the Levites that Fenena has converted to [[Judaism]], and urges them to forgive Ismaele. Abdallo, a soldier, announces the death of Nabucco and warns of the rebellion instigated by Abigaille. Abigaille enters with the High Priest of
=== Act 3: The Prophecy ===
:'Therefore the wild beasts of the desert with the wild beasts of the islands shall dwell there, and the owls shall dwell therein'
''Scene 1: The [[Hanging Gardens of Babylon]]''
Abigaille is now Queen of Babylon. The High Priest of
''Scene 2: The banks of the River [[Euphrates]]''
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''Scene 2: The Hanging Gardens of Babylon''
Fenena and the Israelite prisoners are led in to be sacrificed (
== Historicity ==
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|isbn = 978-0-664-25675-3
}}</ref>
But in the opera it only lasts for the time between the order to kill Fenena and the Jews, and it being carried out.
The biblical story of seven years of madness followed by conversion bears more similarity to the [[Dead Sea Scrolls]]' story of [[Nabonidus]] (556–539 BC), father of [[Belshazzar]] in the [[Cylinders of Nabonidus]], than to the historical Nebuchadnezzar.<ref name="cojs">{{cite web |title=Prayer of Nabonidus |url=http://cojs.org/prayer_of_nabonidus/ |website=cojs.org |date=25 January 2009 |publisher=Center for Online Judaic Studies |access-date=10 September 2018}}</ref> Nabonidus was the last king of Babylon, five kings later than Nebuchadnezzar, and Belshazzar was a temporary regent during Nabonidus' reign. Historical and biblical records agree that the Jews were freed and their temple was rebuilt not by the Babylonians but by [[Cyrus the Great]] following his conquest of Babylon in 539 BC. <ref name="Winn Leith">{{cite book
| last = Winn Leith
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}}</ref> The opera's Nabucco character is thus a composite of historical and biblical Nebuchadnezzar II, Nabonidus and Cyrus.<ref name="Seow" /><ref name="cojs" /><ref name="Winn Leith" />
Babylonians addressed their own god as "[[Bel (mythology)|Bel]]" (Italian: Belo),
Anachronisms in the opera include the use and tearing of paper documents. In this period such documents would probably have been written on clay tablets in [[cuneiform]].{{cn}}-->
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{{notelist}}
Music historians have perpetuated a powerful myth about the famous "[[Va, pensiero]]" chorus sung in the third act by the Hebrew slaves. Scholars have long believed the audience, responding with nationalistic fervor to the slaves' powerful hymn of longing for their homeland, demanded an [[encore]] of the piece. As encores were expressly forbidden by the [[Austrian Italy|Austrian authorities]] ruling northern Italy at the time to prevent public protests,
==Music==
The overture, often played outside the context of the complete work in orchestral concerts, mostly consists of themes from the opera, including the Chorus of Hebrew Slaves and the warlike music when the Israelites curse Ismaele for his betrayal. A stage band is used extensively in the opera, both for the march accompanying Nabucco on his arrival and for Fenena's funeral march. Propulsive energetic rhythms are a notable feature of much of the music, contrasted with more lyrical moments, providing dramatic pace. Both the bass Zaccaria in his prayer "Vieni o Levita", a quiet piece with the unusual accompaniment of six cellos, and the baritone Nabucco in his mad scene and other passages, are given music of great expressiveness, providing outstanding opportunities for the singers, but the tenor role of Ismaele is comparatively minor, unusual for a Verdi opera. The music for Abigaille is extremely demanding, requiring a soprano who can sing both very low and very high with dramatic force and is also capable of virtuoso vocal decoration. More than any of the soloists, however, the chorus, used in a new and dramatic fashion, is at the centre of the opera.{{sfn|Parker|1992}}
▲==Instrumentation==
▲''Nabucco'' is scored for two [[flute]]s (one doubling [[piccolo]]), two [[oboe]]s (one doubling [[English horn]]), two [[clarinet]]s in A, two [[bassoon]]s, four [[French horn|horn]]s in D, two [[trumpet]]s in D, three [[trombone]]s (two [[Tenor trombone|tenor]], one [[Bass Trombone|bass]]), one [[cimbasso]], [[timpani]], [[bass drum]], [[cymbal]]s, [[snare drum|side drum]], [[triangle (musical instrument)|triangle]], two [[harp]]s, [[string section|strings]], and an onstage [[Banda (opera)|banda]].<ref>{{IMSLP|work=Nabucco (Verdi, Giuseppe)|cname=Nabucco (Verdi, Giuseppe}}</ref>
==Recordings==
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| 2004 ||[[Renato Bruson]],<br/>Maurizio Frusoni,<br/>[[Lauren Flanigan]],<br/>[[Carlo Colombara]],<br/>Monica Bacelli||Paolo Carignani,<br/>[[Teatro San Carlo]] Naples Orchestra and Chorus||DVD: [[Brilliant Classics]], live recording<br/>Cat: 92270
|-
| 2007 ||[[Leo Nucci]],<br/>[[Maria Guleghina]],<br/>[[Carlo Colombara]],<br/>[[Fabio Sartori]],<br/>Nino Surguladze,||Daniel Oren,<br/> Arena di Verona Orchestra and Chorus ||DVD: Decca, live recording<br/>Cat: DDD 0440 074 3245 7 DH
|-
|2009||[[Leo Nucci]],<br/>Dimitra Theodossiou,<br />Riccardo Zanellato,<br />Bruno Ribeiro,<br />Annamaria Chiuri,
||[[Michele Mariotti]],<br />[[Teatro Regio di Parma]]
||DVD:C Major, live recording<br />Cat:720408
|}
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{{Reflist}}
'''Cited sources'''
{{div col|colwidth=45em}}
* {{cite book | last=Budden | first=Julian | author-link=Julian Budden | year=1973 | title=The Operas of Verdi | volume=1 | location=London | publisher=Cassell | pages=89–112 | isbn=0-304-31058-1}}
* {{cite book | last=Budden | first=Julian | year=1985 | title=Verdi | series=The Master Musicians | location=London | publisher=J. M. Dent & Sons}} (The book refers to 'Teatro Giglio of Corfu', but there was never a theatre with this name in Corfu.)
* {{cite book | last=Kimbell | first=David | editor=Holden, Amanda | editor-link=Amanda Holden (writer) | year=2001 | title=The New Penguin Opera Guide | location=New York | publisher=Penguin Putnam | isbn=0-14-029312-4}}
* {{cite book | last=Lessona | first=Michele | author-link=Michele Lessona | year=1869 |
* {{Cite Grove|last=Parker|first=Roger|author-link=Roger Parker|title=''Nabucco'' [Nabucodonosor]|year=1992|id=O008126}}
* {{cite book | last=Parker | first=Roger | author-link=Roger Parker | year= * {{cite book|first=Roger|last=Parker|author-link=Roger Parker|title=Arpa d'or dei fatidici vati: The Verdian Patriotic Chorus in the 1840s|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MIqXLSGRkaIC&pg=PA23|year=1997b|publisher=EDT srl|isbn=978-88-85065-15-4}}
* {{cite book | last=Parker | first=Roger | author-link=Roger Parker | url
* {{cite book | last = Phillips-Matz | first = Mary Jane | author-link=Mary Jane Phillips-Matz | year=1993 | title=Verdi: A Biography | url=https://archive.org/details/verdibiography0000phil | url-access=registration | location=New York and Oxford | publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] | isbn=0-19-313204-4}}
* {{cite book | last = Phillips-Matz | first = Mary Jane | contribution = Verdi's life: a thematic biography | year = 2004 | title = The Cambridge Companion to Verdi | editor-last = Balthazar | editor-first = Scott E. | pages = 3–14 | location = Cambridge | publisher = [[Cambridge University Press]] | isbn = 978-0-521-63535-6}}
* {{cite book | last1=Werfel | first1=Franz | author-link1=Franz Werfel | last2=Stefan | first2=Paul | author-link2=Paul Stefan | year=1973 | title=Verdi: The Man and His Letters | location=New York | publisher=Vienna House | isbn=0-8443-0088-8}}
* {{cite book|last=Martin|first=George Whitney|chapter='Autobiographic Sketch' and ''Nabucco''|title=Verdi: His Music, Life and Times|year=1979|publisher=Da Capo Press|isbn=9780306795497}}
{{div col end}}
==Further reading==
{{div col|colwidth=45em}}
* Baldini, Gabriele (1970), (trans. [[Roger Parker]], 1980), ''The Story of Giuseppe Verdi: Oberto to Un Ballo in Maschera''. Cambridge, ''et al'': Cambridge University Press. {{ISBN|0-521-29712-5}}
* De Van, Gilles (trans. Gilda Roberts) (1998), ''Verdi’s Theater: Creating Drama Through Music''. Chicago & London: University of Chicago Press. {{ISBN|0-226-14369-4}} (hardback), {{ISBN|0-226-14370-8}}
* [[Charles Osborne (music writer)|Osborne, Charles]] (1969), ''The Complete Opera of Verdi'', New York: Da Capo Press, Inc. {{ISBN|0-306-80072-1}}
* [[Roger Parker|Parker, Roger]] (2007), ''The New Grove Guide to Verdi and His Operas'', Oxford & New York: Oxford University Press. {{ISBN|978-0-19-531314-7}}
* Parker, Roger (1988), [https://web.archive.org/web/20051120030303/http://humanities.uchicago.edu/orgs/ciao/Verdi%20operas/v1nabucco.html ''Nabucco''], critical edition, Center for Italian Studies, University of Chicago. Retrieved 7 April 2013.
*
* [[Danièle Pistone|Pistone, Danièle]] (1995), ''Nineteenth-Century Italian Opera: From Rossini to Puccini'', Portland, Oregon: Amadeus Press. {{ISBN|0-931340-82-9}}
* [[Francis Toye|Toye, Francis]] (1931), ''Giuseppe Verdi: His Life and Works'', New York: Knopf
* Walker, Frank, ''The Man Verdi'' (1982), New York: Knopf, 1962, Chicago: University of Chicago Press. {{ISBN|0-226-87132-0}}
{{div col end}}
==External links==
{{Commons category|Nabucco (opera)}}
* {{IMSLP|work=Nabucco (Verdi, Giuseppe)|cname=''Nabucco''}}
* [https://opera-guide.ch/en/operas/nabucco/
* [http://opera.stanford.edu/Verdi/Nabucco/libretto.html Libretto] to ''Nabucco'' (in Italian)
* [http://opera.stanford.edu/Verdi/Nabucco/libnotes.html Contextual commentary to libretto] (in English)
* [http://www.giuseppeverdi.it/it/works/list-of-operas/nabucodonosor/ ''Nabucodonosor''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200807154447/http://www.giuseppeverdi.it/it/works/list-of-operas/nabucodonosor/ |date=7 August 2020 }}, giuseppeverdi.it {{in lang|it}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20120308045644/http://www.liberliber.it/musica/v/verdi/index.htm Recording of the opera in the public-domain]
* [http://www.aria-database.com/cgi-bin/aria-search.pl?opera=Nabucco&a Aria database]
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[[Category:Opera world premieres at La Scala]]
[[Category:Cultural depictions of Nebuchadnezzar II]]
[[Category:Babylon in fiction]]
[[Category:Jerusalem in fiction]]
[[Category:Works based on the Book of Daniel]]
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