Nabucco(2018)

Nabucco is an opera set during the Babylonian siege of Jerusalem, where the conquered city's fate rests with King Nabucco. As the monarch approaches the Temple, the Hebrew warrior Ismaël confesses his love to Ferena, the Babylonian king's daughter held hostage by the Hebrews—but her sister Abigaille harbors feelings for him too. Arnaud Bernard's production reimagines the story through the aesthetic of the Italian Risorgimento, echoing the opera's original 1842 premiere at La Scala in Milan. Audiences then saw themselves in the enslaved Hebrews, making Nabucco an instant triumph. The slave chorus "Va, pensiero" emerged as one of opera's most enduring and celebrated pieces, resonating across generations with its themes of captivity and longing for freedom.