Nabucco

In a poetic and visionary staging signed by Stefano Poda for direction, sets, and costumes, the Nabucco takes the stage in the 104th edition of the Arena di Verona Opera Festival.

The opera becomes a timeless journey from conflict to reconciliation, from pride to hope, between humanism and technology. A title long beloved in the Arena for its intrinsic and spectacular choral nature, the new production Nabucco has already been described as “atomic”: large symbolic elements and innovative lighting designs combine on stage, serving the drama of Verdi that tells of a conflict not only between peoples but within each individual.

Nabucco, originally "Nabucodonosor," is a lyrical opera that illustrates the condition of slavery of the Jewish People in Babylonian land. The troubled love story is the central theme of the opera: right from the first act, a double story of love and jealousy unfolds between the two daughters of the Babylonian king Nabucco, Fenena and Abigaille, with the Jew Ismaele.

In the background, the contrast between the faith in the one god of the Jews and the pagan deity of Bel. The god of the Jews first strikes Nabucco with a lightning bolt, then inspires the conversions of the king and his daughter Fenena. The opera ends with the victory of good over evil through the suicide of Abigaille, usurper of the throne of Babel. Suggestive and moving is the chorus of the Jews who, on the banks of the Euphrates River, invoke their distant homeland to the notes of Va Pensiero.

Performances: July 29 at 9:15 p.m. - August 5, 15, 21, 27 at 9:00 p.m. - September 3, 9 at 9:00 p.m.