Performance

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Dates:

NABUCCO

Opera

Composer:

Giuseppe Verdi

Author of the libretto:

Francesco Maria Piave inspired by William Shakespeare

Date of the premiere:

24.10.1987

Duration:

2 h 55 min (2 intermissions)

Producers:

Music direction:

Andrzej Straszyński

Director:

Marek Okopiński

Set design:

Marian Kołodziej

Stage movement:

Czesław Bilski

Stage manager:

Karolina Filus

Opera in four acts. Performance in Italian with Polish subtitles.

Verdi was close to abandoning his career as an opera composer after the moderate success of "Oberto" and the failure of "The King's Day." Everything changed in 1841 when the manager of La Scala presented him with a libretto about the tribulations of King Nebuchadnezzar and the beginnings of the Babylonian captivity of the Jews. "Nabucco" had almost eighty performances in less than a year and secured a permanent place in the repertoire of the world's greatest stages.

This majestic work allows us to go back to the times when the Jewish people were under the rule of the Babylonian ruler Nebuchadnezzar. The longing of the Israelites for lost freedom intertwines here with court intrigues, the lust for power, and the romantic dilemmas of the king's daughters. Although the action takes place in the 6th century BCE, it actually refers to the nationalist movements that aimed to unify Italy under the rule of Victor Emmanuel II. During its premiere, the content of the opera was identified by Italians with their own destiny, and today, stripped of its political context, it still evokes equally unforgettable impressions among audiences.