Opera in three acts
Libretto by TEMISTOCLE SOLERA after the play by ANICET-BOURGEOIS and FRANCIS cornu Music by Verdi (sung in Italian) direct from the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden
' With this opera,' wrote Verdi in middle life, ' you could say that my artistic career began.' Produced at La Scala, Milan, in 1842, it was his third work for the stage and won him immediate fame throughout Italy, where it became a symbol of national aspiration. Nabucco, King of Babylon
PETER glossop (baritone)
Zaccaria, High Priest of the Jews David WARD (bass)
Ismaele, nephew of Sedecia,
King of Jerusalem
ERMANNO MAURO (tenor)
Fenena. daughter of Nabucco MARIA PELLEGRINI (
Sopranol Anna. sister of Zaccaria MARIE HAYWARD (soprano)
Abdulla, officer of Nabucco
JOHN LANIGAN (tenor)
High Priest of Baal GWYNNE HOWELI. Obass)
Babylonian and Hebrew soldiers. Hebrew virgins. Babylonian women, magi, Assyrian lords, populace
COVENT GARDEN OPERA CHORUS chorus-master douglas ROBINSON ORCHESTRA OF THE ROYAL OPERA HOUSE, COVENT GARDEN leader PETER GIBBS conductor COLIN DAVIS
Producer VACLAV KASLIK
The action takes place in Jerusalem and Babylon in 587 bc Act 1