Verdi: Nabucco

DVD, 150 minutes, IMAGE

A drama divided in four parts by Giuseppe Verdi, performed by the Opera and Chorus of the Teatro di San Carlo and directed by Fabio Sparvoli. "Nabucco" is opera on a vast scale sung by a chorus with libretto by Temistocle Solera. The debut in Milan at the Theatre of La Scala on March 9th, 1842, was a great success and marked the beginning of a long tour in many Italian and European theatres. According to critics, "Nabucco" revealed Verdi's passionate personality, its success deriving from the grandiose evocative power of the "Va' Pensiero," one of the most famous melodies in the world, celebrating the Hebrew's homesickness. The Italians during the nineteenth century, still not united as a nation and still dominated by the Austria and Spain, felt it was their national song, a song of people longing to see their land free from enemies and united once again.