Tuesday, April 10, 2001
Nabucco, the unknown giant among operas
LOOKING AHEAD by Wally Dobelis
Concealed behind the deceptively childish nickname of Nabucco, this seldom performed opera about Nebuchadnezzar, the murderous king of Babylonians who destroyed Jerusalem 2600 years ago and held the Israelites in captivity for 60 years, runs the full alphabet of operatic emotions, with musical themes to match. About the only subject missing is death by tuberculosis. This is the opera, written by the 29-year old Giuseppe Verdi in 1842, that inspired Italians during the Risorgimento, their fight for independence, and its choral theme, "Va', pensiero," was their unofficial anthem for over a hundred years; it is the only opera music that traditionally has listeners standing and applauding until the choir sings an encore, in any opera house in the world. Even Toscanini's 1897 edict against encores in Milan's La Scala was breached 90 years later, during the 1986 season's opening performance, when Richard Muti threw up his hands and joined the Nabucco choir. It has been the anthem of exiles and sufferers of oppression of all nations; a man in the line at the Met spoke of hearing it repeated in Cracow, outside the gates of Auschwitz, years ago, sung by a Soviet chorus.
Both opera houses and singers fear Nabocco, and managers mostly suppress it, because it has destroyed the voices of daring sopranos. That is why Metropolitan Opera has not produced Nabucco since the 1960-61 season, until now, the 100th anniversary day of Giuseppe Verdi's death. The role of Abigaille is the culprit, it requires bravura singing at full voice and in a wide range, and one could hear the strain in brawny Maria Guleghina's voice (she's also singing the part in Vienna this year) in the last scenes.
The opera opens with the Israelites in Jerusalem lamenting Nabucco's depredations. To protect his people, high priest Zaccaria (Samuel Ramey) holds a hostage, the ruler's daughter Fenena (Marianna Tarasova), belowed by the Hebrew's military leader, young Ismaele (Francesco Casanova), who in turn is loved by another supposed daughter of the king, the jilted and revengeful Abigaille. You get the drift.
When the conquering Nabucco (Juan Pons)appears, the priest threatens to stab Fenena, but his hand is stayed by Ismaele, whom the Hebrews now declare a traitor. Nabucco, in his hubris, declares himself divine and puts down both Baal and Jehovah. The dieties punish him with madness, and Abigaile usurps the kingdom, aided by the priests of Baal, and promises to kill all the Israelites in captivity. That includes her sister, who meanwhile has converted to Judaism, thus redeeming Ismaele.
After the intermission the scene opens on a giant choir of 110 Israelites, draped in sculpted poses of despair on a terraced cliff at the banks of Euphrates, singing of the golden wings on which their thoughts return to their lost homeland. Based on the 137th Psalm, the lines of "Va' pensiero" brought immortality to libretist Themistocle Solera, an adventurous character not otherwise known for lofty ideas. After the immense ovation and the encore (as an aside, the only other recent encore at the Met, in the memory of veteran usher, had been at Dame Joan Sutherland's retirement performance of I Puritani in 1990), the priest returns and predicts that the Israelites will overcome their plight with the Lord's help.
Help comes from an unexpected source - Nabucco wakes from his madness, sees Abigaille's followers lead Fenena and the captives to their executions and prays to the God of Hebrews for forgiveness, pledging to convert himself and his people. His plea is answered, the Babylonian soldiers rally around him and overthrow Abigaille, who takes poison and begs God to pardon her. The opera ends on notes of faith and hope.
Verdi (1813-1901), the organist of his native Busseto, moved to Milan to try his hand at opera in 1839. Nabucco, his 3rd opus, established the young composer's reputation, and started the flow of demand for his work that resulted in some 26 operas in 64 years, 16 of which continue to be performed. His pro-independence politics (as evidenced in Nabucco and I Lombardi) brought him, after the unification in 1861, into both the provincial and national parliaments, with an ultimate election as senator for life. The phrase, VIVA VERDI (also an acronym foe Victor Emanuele, King of Italy), painted on the walls of Italian towns during the long years of Garibaldi's fights with the Hapsburg Austrians was understood to stand for independence. Even today, shouted at the Nabucco performance, it evokes cheers and applause from the audience.
Verdi died a revered figure, with 100,000 Italians singing the theme at his funeral, under the direction of Arturo Toscanini. For its 100th anniversary Busseto called on the world for a "Va’ pensiero day," to which New York, Buenos Aires, London, Melbourne and other capitals responded, resulting in Nabucco performances. Although we will never see Verdi’s operas again in their full former glory - the Met has no entrance ramps that can carry an elephant for Aida - the old great beloved masterpieces will never fade. Viva Verdi, bis!
Wally regrets to inform that the last Nabucco performance of this short season was on April 6.
Concealed behind the deceptively childish nickname of Nabucco, this seldom performed opera about Nebuchadnezzar, the murderous king of Babylonians who destroyed Jerusalem 2600 years ago and held the Israelites in captivity for 60 years, runs the full alphabet of operatic emotions, with musical themes to match. About the only subject missing is death by tuberculosis. This is the opera, written by the 29-year old Giuseppe Verdi in 1842, that inspired Italians during the Risorgimento, their fight for independence, and its choral theme, "Va', pensiero," was their unofficial anthem for over a hundred years; it is the only opera music that traditionally has listeners standing and applauding until the choir sings an encore, in any opera house in the world. Even Toscanini's 1897 edict against encores in Milan's La Scala was breached 90 years later, during the 1986 season's opening performance, when Richard Muti threw up his hands and joined the Nabucco choir. It has been the anthem of exiles and sufferers of oppression of all nations; a man in the line at the Met spoke of hearing it repeated in Cracow, outside the gates of Auschwitz, years ago, sung by a Soviet chorus.
Both opera houses and singers fear Nabocco, and managers mostly suppress it, because it has destroyed the voices of daring sopranos. That is why Metropolitan Opera has not produced Nabucco since the 1960-61 season, until now, the 100th anniversary day of Giuseppe Verdi's death. The role of Abigaille is the culprit, it requires bravura singing at full voice and in a wide range, and one could hear the strain in brawny Maria Guleghina's voice (she's also singing the part in Vienna this year) in the last scenes.
The opera opens with the Israelites in Jerusalem lamenting Nabucco's depredations. To protect his people, high priest Zaccaria (Samuel Ramey) holds a hostage, the ruler's daughter Fenena (Marianna Tarasova), belowed by the Hebrew's military leader, young Ismaele (Francesco Casanova), who in turn is loved by another supposed daughter of the king, the jilted and revengeful Abigaille. You get the drift.
When the conquering Nabucco (Juan Pons)appears, the priest threatens to stab Fenena, but his hand is stayed by Ismaele, whom the Hebrews now declare a traitor. Nabucco, in his hubris, declares himself divine and puts down both Baal and Jehovah. The dieties punish him with madness, and Abigaile usurps the kingdom, aided by the priests of Baal, and promises to kill all the Israelites in captivity. That includes her sister, who meanwhile has converted to Judaism, thus redeeming Ismaele.
After the intermission the scene opens on a giant choir of 110 Israelites, draped in sculpted poses of despair on a terraced cliff at the banks of Euphrates, singing of the golden wings on which their thoughts return to their lost homeland. Based on the 137th Psalm, the lines of "Va' pensiero" brought immortality to libretist Themistocle Solera, an adventurous character not otherwise known for lofty ideas. After the immense ovation and the encore (as an aside, the only other recent encore at the Met, in the memory of veteran usher, had been at Dame Joan Sutherland's retirement performance of I Puritani in 1990), the priest returns and predicts that the Israelites will overcome their plight with the Lord's help.
Help comes from an unexpected source - Nabucco wakes from his madness, sees Abigaille's followers lead Fenena and the captives to their executions and prays to the God of Hebrews for forgiveness, pledging to convert himself and his people. His plea is answered, the Babylonian soldiers rally around him and overthrow Abigaille, who takes poison and begs God to pardon her. The opera ends on notes of faith and hope.
Verdi (1813-1901), the organist of his native Busseto, moved to Milan to try his hand at opera in 1839. Nabucco, his 3rd opus, established the young composer's reputation, and started the flow of demand for his work that resulted in some 26 operas in 64 years, 16 of which continue to be performed. His pro-independence politics (as evidenced in Nabucco and I Lombardi) brought him, after the unification in 1861, into both the provincial and national parliaments, with an ultimate election as senator for life. The phrase, VIVA VERDI (also an acronym foe Victor Emanuele, King of Italy), painted on the walls of Italian towns during the long years of Garibaldi's fights with the Hapsburg Austrians was understood to stand for independence. Even today, shouted at the Nabucco performance, it evokes cheers and applause from the audience.
Verdi died a revered figure, with 100,000 Italians singing the theme at his funeral, under the direction of Arturo Toscanini. For its 100th anniversary Busseto called on the world for a "Va’ pensiero day," to which New York, Buenos Aires, London, Melbourne and other capitals responded, resulting in Nabucco performances. Although we will never see Verdi’s operas again in their full former glory - the Met has no entrance ramps that can carry an elephant for Aida - the old great beloved masterpieces will never fade. Viva Verdi, bis!
Wally regrets to inform that the last Nabucco performance of this short season was on April 6.
# posted by Wally Dobelis @ 2:53 PM 
