Nabucco

Giuseppe Verdi

    New in 2024’s summer opera season is this powerful portrayal of the lust for power and lost freedom. When we ask what you would like to see, Nabucco always comes up. This new Nabucco is directed by the award-winning Rodula Gaitanou: ‘Climate change is the most serious war of our time and it is being waged against nature. Our version is an ecological manifesto.’ The staging is inspired by the design language of Babylonian pyramids and palaces.

    Nabucco takes place in a fascinatingly timeless past. Director Rodula Gaitanou and designer takis depict the story with sharpness and freshness, while preserving its epic scale. It’s not just about war and an oppressed people; it’s also about love.

    Nabucco is famous for its magnificent choral scenes. 

    In the world created by Gaitanou and stage designer takis, Nabucco leads a group of technocrats who believe in plastic, machinery and individualism. In this production of Nabucco, the two male leads are matched by Abigaille and Fenena, resulting in four instead of two equally important leading roles.

    Nabucco is famous for its magnificent choral scenes. The grand chorus is like one of the characters in the opera. The hit of the evening, Va, pensiero from the Hebrew slaves, strikes to the very heart. The High Priest’s role is sung by bass Mika Kares.

    How does the plot of Nabucco unfold? Read the synopsis here.

    Note! In Nabucco, there will be brief use of strobe lighting and heavy theatrical smoke as special effects.

    Team

    • Conductor

      Ville Matvejeff 6., 11., 16., 19. & 22.7.
      James Sherlock 8., 24. & 26.7.

    • Director

      Rodula Gaitanou

    • Set and costume designer

      takis

    • Lighting designer

      Jake Wiltshire

    • Choreographer and Assistant Director

      Lauren Poulton

    • Chorus Master

      Jan Schweiger

    • Savonlinna Opera Festival Choir
      Savonlinna Opera Festival Orchestra

    • Language

      Italian

    • Surtitles

      Finnish and English

    • Duration

      approx. 3 hrs, incl. one interval

       

    cast

    Gabriele Viviani
    Nabucco 6., 16., 22. & 26.7.
    Devid Cecconi
    Nabucco 8., 11., 19. & 24.7.
    Marigona Qerkezi
    Abigaille
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    Annalisa Stroppa
    Fenena 6., 11., 19., 24. & 26.7.
    More
    Margareta Matišić
    Fenena 8., 16. & 22.7.
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    Mika Kares
    Zaccaria 6.7., 8.7., 11.7. & 16.7.
    Vazgen Gazaryan
    Zaccaria 19., 22., 24. & 26.7.
    Anthony Ciaramitaro
    Ismaele 6., 11., 19., 24. & 26.7.
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    Johan Krogius
    Ismaele 8., 16. & 22.7.
    Stanislav Šeljahhovski
    The High Priest of Baal
    Yusniel Estrada
    Abdallo
    Johanna Nylund
    Anna
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    “Viviani clearly showed Nabucco’s weakness and mental degradation while delineating both vocally and dramatically the emotional arc that this character goes through.”
    OperaWire

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