Grand Theatre de Geneve
Nabucco
“Pride goes before a fall”: the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar follows the path from megalomania to madness before finding reason again. His journey is closely intertwined with love, hate, renunciation and the intoxication of power that mark the stories of Fenena and Abigaille, Nabucco’s two very different daughters. The Hebrew captives’ chorus “Va pensiero”, quoting the 137th Psalm “By the rivers of Babylon” became so well known that it blurred the contours of Verdi’s great psychodrama and family tragedy. Veteran Swiss director Roland Aeschlimann uses a highly symbolic set (imposing stairs, mountain of books, Star of David) to restore unity to the broken house of Nabucco. Great performance by the NewYorker Elizabeth Blancke-Briggs, who will soon appear in an interview on this blog.
Dramma lirico in 4 parts by Giuseppe Verdi Libretto by Temistocle Solera. First performed in Milan on 9 March 1842 at Teatro alla Scala. New production At the Grand Théâtre de Genève Sung in Italian with English and French surtitles Duration: approx. 2:40 (including intermission)
PERFORMANCE DATES
fri 28 feb 14 -19:30
sat 01 mar 14 – 19:30
sun 02 mar 14 – 15:00
tue 04 mar 14 – 19:30
thu 06 mar 14 – 19:30
fri 07 mar 14 – 19:30
sat 08 mar 14 – 19:30
mon 10 mar 14 – 19:30
| Musical Director | John Fiore |
| Stage Director & Set Designer | Roland Aeschlimann |
| Associate Stage Director & Body Expression | Andrea K. Schlehwein |
| Costume Designer | Andrea Schmidt-Futterer / Roland Aeschlimann |
| Lighting Designer | Simon Trottet |
| Vidéo | fettFilm |
| Nabucodonosor | Lucio Gallo (28 fev., 2, & 6 march.)* |
| Nabucodonosor | Roman Burdenko (1, 4, 7, 8 & 10 march)* |
| Ismaele | Leonardo Capalbo |
| Zaccaria | Roberto Scandiuzzi (28 fév., 2, 6, 8 & 10 march)* |
| Zaccaria | Almas Svilpa (1er, 4 & 7 march)* |
| Abigaille | Csilla Boross (28 fév, 2, 6 & 8 march)* |
| Abigaille | Elizabeth Blancke-Biggs (1er, 4, 7 & 10 march)* |
| Fenena | Ahlima Mhamdi |
| High priest of Baal | Khachik Matevosyan |
| Abdallo | Terige Sirolli |
| Anna | Elisa Cenni |
Grand Théâtre Opera Chorus Director Ching-Lien Wu Orchestre de la Suisse Romande *subject to changes
Synopsis
Nabucco’s daughter Fenena is the hostage of the Jewish people. Zaccaria the High Priest of the Jews places her in the care of Ismaele, and they fall in love. They attempt to elope, but Fenena’s older sister Abigaille threatens to denounce them unless Ismaele becomes her lover. The rivalry between the sisters aggravates Abigaille’s thirst for power and genocidal tendencies. She defies her father and persecutes the Jews. But Nabucco regains his senses and kingly power when he turns to the God of the Jews…
Opera, My Love Magazine 