Nabucco

While some may find the story obsolete at first, I did admittedly, the music is so good, that I consider Nabucco Verdi's first masterpiece. The brilliant 1985 production is the best Nabucco I've seen, but this Nabucco is very solid. The music is wonderful, and while the sound is distorted and rather low at times, production-values wise the production is well above average.

Musically, this production is close to faultless. Va Pansiero had me in tears of sadness and hope, and Dio Di Guida is both moving and stirring. The chorus are very musical and balanced and pitched very well, the orchestra are assured and the conducting brings out the complexity and beauty of the score more than adequately.

Renato Bruson is brilliant as Nabucco, in one of his best roles. He is an outstanding singing-actor, and sings with his usual richness. Ferrucio Furlanetto is a noble Zaccaria, while Sylvie Valayre in the fiendishly difficult role of Abaigaille is dramatically and vocally powerful. Nazzareno Antinori is good as Ismaele vocally, but stolid sometimes in his acting.

All in all, a solid production. 8/10 Bethany Cox