Nabucco

Good production in many respects
I liked this production very much, especially the staging (by Daniele Abbado - yes, the son of Claudio A.), set & costumes, and the musical direction (cond. Michele Mariotti). There are some good singing too, not least from Abigaille, the leading lady, sung by Dimitra Theodossiou. Leo Nucci in the title role is OK, but he sounds perhaps a little aged (he was 67 at the time of recording). I beleive that there are stronger casts, but the production as a whole will disappoint few. There is some problems with the focus of the chorus in "Va pensiero" - they are too much in the background. I have seen two other performances of Nabucco on DVD - Arena di Verona from 1981 with Renato Bruson in the title role, and Wiener Staatsoper 2001 with Leo Nucci. The latter suffers from a very "stripped" staging with modern costumes ("eurotrash"), while the former probably beats the present production in many respects, especially regarding the soloists. But the sound and the picture are not as good as the...

A very mixed opera and a very mixed production
The failure of Verdi's second opera " Un Giorno di Regno" in 1840 was one of the bitterest disappointments in Verdi's life. This on top of the death of Verdi's first wife Margharita Barezzi also in 1840 he swore to never write opera again. His chance meeting with the impresario Bartolomeo Merreli, his mentor and friend resulted in him considering a text refused by other composers of Nabucco. He again refused but later relented and this Nabucco is the result. Here he demonstrates a mastery of large choral forces, vocal contrasts and somewhat static dramatic effects (these will be refined in subsequent operas). All this captivated the audience in 1842 at La Scalla. It was and still is a triumph. In it we do not have the well crafted dramas that will begin with Ernani but we do have episodic high drama with massed chorus to move the plot along. We do have great vocal scoring for the three major characters: Nabucodonosor (later shortened to Nabucco) who is Primo Baritono (a voice type...

Leo Nucci at his best
A wonderful interpratation, in which highlights Leo Nucci. Nice opera, one of Verdi's must, but scenery could have been better.

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