It was 1842 at La Scala Milan that saw the premiere of Nabucco. It was the first of Verdi’s many successful operas written in the year after he lost his infant child and his 26-year-old wife. He refused Solera’s libretto three times before eventually turning it into his first great opera. Donizetti was the conductor of the Austrian premiere in Vienna in 1843 and three years later it was premiered in London at Her Majesty’s Theatre. It has had great success ever since.
This production by Daniele Abbado, having opened at the Royal Opera House in 2013, is now in the second revival of an unmerited production. The opera follows the plight of the Jews as they are assaulted, conquered and subsequently exiled from their homeland by the Babylonian King Nabucco. It features at its musical core the famous “Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves”. In this underwhelming production, this chorus featured beautifully and was one of the highlights of the evening with the chorus positioned in close circular companionship. The chorus itself - thank goodness without masks - were in fine form.
The singing, despite ‘Park and Bark’, was a high-quality affair. It was led by the star Ukrainian soprano Ludmyla Monastyrska singing Abigaille who produced an unyielding voice of overwhelming sound in a great musical interpretation of her role. She was matched by the supremely elegant Russian bass Alexander Vinogradov singing Zaccaria, the high priest of the Hebrews, who has a thrilling and dramatic bass voice. Other members of the cast, the Fenena of Vasilisa Berzhanskaya and the rather nasally Ismaele of Najmiddin Mavlyanov produced sophisticated interpretations of their roles. The Nabucco was sung by the Mongolian baritone Amartuvshin Enkhbat whose rich, intelligent tone shone throughout the evening. The conductor Renato Balsadonna, who was brought in at a short notice, provided a plush account of the score.
But the static production! The headstones of the graves stood proud on stage. However, they were meant to be a reference to the cemetery at the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem, where even today the graves lie flat without standing headstones. A nice idea but oh what could have been. Simply not good enough.
