Nabucco

Giuseppe Verdi

  • For whom
    Everybody - First-timers, seasoned operagoers alike.
  • If you liked these
    Macbeth (2025), Aida (2022), Carmen (2022, 2014), Rigoletto (2019, 2017), I masnadieri (2019), Otello (2018, 2016)
  • Good to know
    The iconic chorus “Va, pensiero” from Nabucco was so beloved that, at Verdi’s funeral in 1901, a crowd of over 300,000 people spontaneously began singing it as his coffin passed through the streets of Milan.
  • Age recommendation
    12 years and older
  • Language
    Italian, Finnish and English surtitles
  • Duration
    3 hours, one interval
  • Tickets
    Tickets from €69.60 + order fee (from €1.50 + 0.65% of the order)
  • Premiere
    6.7.2026 klo 19

The Summer 2026 programme is here! Ticket sales for Opera Festival members are already open with discounts of up to 15%. Tickets go on sale on Tuesday 1 July at 10 a.m. Be ready and grab the best seats with an early bird discount of 10%!

Babylonian king Nabucco invades and robs the Jewish population, subjecting them to slavery and forced labour. Power intoxicates and deludes him. It makes the king play god. Meanwhile, the bitter Abigaille, one of the strongest female roles in the operatic repertoire, awaits her own moment of revenge and plots against the young lovers Ismaele and Fenena.   

Nabucco returns to Olavinlinna after it’s celebrated and highly acclaimed premiere in 2024.

Even though the story of Nabucco is historic and has its roots in the bible, it is still modern. Director Rodula Gaitanou and designer takis depict the story with freshness, while preserving its epic scale and adding in climate change as one of today’s greatest challenges for humankind, which fits seamlessly into Verdi’s opera.

With its grand choir scenes including opera’s undoubtedly most famous choir “Va, pensiero”, the monumental stage design and the heart-wrenching fate of the opera’s protagonists, Nabucco returns to Olavinlinna after it’s celebrated and highly acclaimed premiere in 2024 with world-class soprano Marigona Qerkezi as Abigaille. 

Trailer and videos

Synopsis

Babylonian King Nabucco seeks to conquer the city of Jerusalem. As he defeats the Israelites, imprisons them and destroys their temple, he proclaims himself a god, which angers the heavens. Among the prisoners is Ismaele, a Hebrew prince, who is secretly in love with Fenena, Nabucco’s compassionate daughter. Struck down by madness, Nabucco loses his power, while his ambitious and ruthless daughter Abigaille, who is also in love with Ismaele seizes the throne. 

Meanwhile, the Israelites long for freedom. In the end, Nabucco regains his sanity, repents, converts to the God of Israel, and restores peace by freeing the Jewish people and reclaiming his throne.  

Team

  • Conductor

    Ivan Lopez Reynoso

  • Director

    Rodula Gaitanou

  • Set and costume designer

    takis

  • Lightning designer

    Jake Wiltshire

  • Chorus master

    Jan Schweiger

  • Savonlinna Opera Festival Choir
    Savonlinna Opera Festival Orchestra

Cast

Marigona Qerkezi26
Abigaille
Giorgio Berrugi
Ismaele
Petri Lindroos26
Zaccaria
Timo Riihonen26
Zaccaria
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