NABUCCO Verdi – Grand Théâtre de Genève

Politics. Religion. Nabucco is Verdi’s retelling of the Old Testament story of King Nebuchadnezzar II’s religious conversion. On one side, the fiery Hebrew priest Zaccaria, battling to lead his people from oppression. On the other, Nabucco, the tyrannical Babylonian king and his adopted daughter Abigaille, who will stop at nothing to get her father’s throne and her sister’s lover. Will King Nabucco’s ambition rob him of his beloved daughter as well as his kingdom? Nabucco was an instant success at its 1842 premiere, with the famous Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves (‘Va, pensiero’) taking on a political resonance that still echoes today. The twists and turns of this epic early opera by Giuseppe Verdi are often seen as a call to the national liberation struggle that would eventually lead to Italian unity. Exile and power, displaced populations and forced migrations are themes dear to Christiane Jatahy. The Brazilian director, filmmaker and author, who was awarded the Golden Lion for Lifeti