Metropolitan Opera Premiered Verdi's Nabucco Monday, Oct. 24, 1960

Summary: Met Opera premiered Verdi's Nabucco Monday, Oct. 24, 1960, more than 118 and one-half years after the opera's world premiere Wednesday, March 9, 1842.

Temistocle Solera sourced his Italian-language libretto for Giuseppe Verdi's Old Testament-based Nabucco from Nabuchodonosor, a French-language play written in 1836 by 19th-century French dramatists Auguste Anicet-Bourgeois and Francis Cornu; the play premiered Oct. 17, 1836, at Théâtre de l’Ambigu-Comique (Theatre of the Comic-Ambiguity), Boulevard du Temple, 11th arrondissement of Paris (11e arrondissement de Paris; XIe arrondissement; arrondissement de Popincourt), right bank of the Seine (la rive droite de la Seine), Paris; sketches of costumes for Anicet-Bourgeois and Cornu's play (top row left to right) Babylonian High Priest of Bel, Princess Phenenna, Ismaël, Abygaïl as adoptive princess, High Priest of the Jews Zacharie and (bottom row left to row) Abygaïl en Guerrier (Abigaille as Warrior), Nabuchodonosor, Abygaïl en Reine (Abigaille as Queen), homme du peuple (man of the people), Abygaïl sous le nom de Noemi (Abigaille under the name of Noemi): Public Domain, via BnF (Bibliothèque nationale de France) Gallica

The Metropolitan Opera premiere of Giuseppe Verdi's Nabucco took place Monday, Oct. 24, 1960, more than 118 years seven and one-half months after the opera's world premiere Wednesday, March 9, 1842.

Nineteenth-century Italian opera composer Giuseppe Verdi (Oct. 10, 1813-Jan. 27, 1901) set Nabucco, originally titled Nabucodonosor (Nebuchadnezzar), to a libretto by Temistocle Solera (Dec. 25,1815-April 21, 1878). The Italian composer and librettist sourced his Italian-language libretto from the Old Testatment books of Second Kings (2 Kings), Jeremiah, Lamentations and Daniel; from Nabuchodonosor, a play written in 1836 by French dramatists Auguste Anicet-Bourgeois (Dec. 23, 1806-Jan. 12, 1871) and Lazare Louis François Cornu, known as Francis Cornu (Jan. 30, 1798-March 7, 1848); and from Nabuccodonosor, a ballet adapted in 1838 from the Anicet-Cornu play by Italian ballet dancer, choreographer and composer Antonio Cortesi (December 1796-April 1879).

Verdi premiered his Old Testament-based opera Wednesday, March 9, 1842, at La Scala, officially named Teatro alla Scala, located on Milan's Plaza della Scala, Lombardy region, northwestern Italy. Nabucco's premiere at La Scala numbered as the third of 10 Verdi operas with La Scala premieres.

The Metropolitan Opera premiere of Verdi's Nabucco took place Monday, Oct. 24, 1960. Nabucco received 14 performances in Met Opera's 1960-1961 season. Nine performances, including the premiere, were given at the opera company's first house, located at 1411 Broadway in Midtown Manhattan's Garment District. Five performances were scheduled for the opera company's 1960-1961 Tour.

Met Opera was the venue for the second through fourth performances, which were held Tuesday, Nov. 1; Friday, Nov. 11; and Monday, Nov. 21. The fifth performance, Tuesday, Nov. 29, was given at the American Academy of Music in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The production returned to Met Opera for the sixth through 10th performances, given Saturday, Dec. 3; Wednesday, Dec. 7; Saturday, Jan. 7, 1961; April Fool's Day, Saturday, April 1; and Thursday, April 6. The opera's last four performances were staged on tour, with the 11th through 14th performances being held, respectively, Monday, April 17, at the Metropolitan Theater in Boston, Massachusetts; Saturday, May 6, at Fox Theater in Atlanta, Georgia; Monday, May 15, at University Auditorium in Bloomington, Indiana; and Thursday, May 25, at the Masonic Temple in Detroit, Michigan.

American maestro Thomas Schippers (March 9, 1930-Dec. 16, 1977) conducted all 14 performances of Nabucco in the 1960-1961 season. The American maestro had made his Met Opera debut Friday, Dec. 23, 1955, in the double bill of the Metropolitan Opera premiere of Soirée, a ballet choreographed by Zachary Solov to music by 20th-century composer, conductor and pianist Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten (Nov. 22,1913-Dec. 4, 1976), and 19th-century Italian composer Gioachino Rossini (Feb. 29, 1792-Nov. 13, 1868), and a new production of Don Pasquale by 19th-century Italian bel canto opera composer Gaetano Donizetti (Nov. 29, 1797-April 8, 1848).

In the 1960-1961 season, American maestro Thomas Schippers (March 9, 1930-Dec. 16, 1977) conducted the Metropolitan Opera premiere of Verdi's Nabucco, which numbered as the ninth of 27 operas in his conducting portfolio at the opera company: Napoli Sala Maddaloni, via Facebook Dec. 16, 2018

Cornell MacNeil (Sep. 24, 1922-July 15, 2011) sang the title role in the premiere through sixth and ninth through 13th performances. The American operatic baritone had made his Met Opera debut Saturday, March 21, 1959, in the title role in the opera company's 390th performance of Verdi's Rigoletto.

Cornell MacNeil shared the title role with Anselmo Colzani (March 28, 1918-March 19, 2006), who sang Nabucco in the seventh, eighth and closing, 14th performances. The Italian operatic baritone had made his Met Opera debut Thursday, April 7, 1960, in the title role in the opera company's 33rd performance of Verdi's Simon Boccanegra.

Leonie Rysanek (Nov. 14, 1926-March 7, 1998) appeared in all performances as Abigaille, who despises Jews but loves Ismaele, nephew of the King of Jerusalem, and who tragically learns that she is not the older daughter of King Nabucco but, instead, the daughter of slaves. The Austrian dramatic soprano had made her Met Opera debut Thursday, Feb. 5, 1959, as Lady Macbeth in the Metropolitan Opera premiere of Verdi's Macbeth.

Eugenio Fernandi (1924-Aug. 8, 1991) appeared in the first through third, fifth through eighth, 10th and 13th performances as Ismaele, love triangularly by Fenena, Nabucco's daughter, and Abigaille. The Italian lyric and spinto tenor had made his Met Opera debut as Pinkerton in the opera company's 356th performance of Madama Butterfly by Italian opera composer Giacomo Puccini (Dec. 22, 1858-Nov. 29, 1924).

Rosalind Elias (March 13, 1930-May 3, 2020) sang Fenena in the first through third and fifth through 11th performances. The American mezzo-soprano had made her Met Opera debut Tuesday, Feb. 23, 1954, as Grimgerde in the opera company's 374th performance of Die Walküre by 19th-century German composer and librettist Richard Wagner (May 22, 1813-Feb. 13, 1883).

Rosalind Elias shared the role of Fenena with Mignon Dunn (June 17, 1928-) and Helen Vanni (Jan. 30, 1924-March 5, 2023). Mignon Dunn sang in the fourth and 12th performances. The American dramatic mezzo-soprano had made her Met Opera debut Wednesday, Oct. 29, 1958, as the Nurse in the opera company's 144th performance of Boris Godunov by Russian composer Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky (March 21, 1839-March 28, 1881).

Helen Vanni appeared in the 13th and closing, 14th performances. The American soprano and mezzo-soprano had made her Met Opera debut Friday, Nov. 9, 1956, as a Page in the opera company's 375th performance of Verdi's Rigoletto.

Günther Rennert (April 1, 1911-July 31, 1978) directed the Metropolitan Opera's premiere of Verdi's Nabucco. The German opera director made his Met Opera debut in his new Nabucco staging. Rennert's production team comprised Swiss stage director Teo Otto (Feb. 4, 1904-June 9, 1968) and German costume and set designer Wolfgang Roth (1910-1988) as designers. Teo Otto had made his Met Opera debut Friday, Dec. 18, 1959, in the opera company's 368th performance of Wagner's Tristan und Isolde. Wolfgang Roth had made his Met Opera debut, Friday, Dec. 23, 1955, in the company of conductor Thomas Schippers, in the opera company's 42nd performance of Donizetti's Don Pasquale.

Günther Rennert's production disappeared from Met Opera's active repertoire after the 1960-1961 season. Nabucco remained unperformed for four decades (40 years, 4 months, 12 days). A new production, debuted by Australian opera director Elijah Moshinsky (Jan. 8, 1946-Jan. 14, 2021) Thursday, March 8, 2001, in the 2000-2001 season, receives its sixth revival in the 2023-2024 season.

Teo Otto Theater in Ramscheid honors Swiss stage designer Teo Otto (Feb. 4, 1904-June 9, 1968), who co-designed German opera director Günther Rennert's production of Nabucco for the Verdian Old Testament-based opera's Metropolitan Opera premiere in the 1960-1961 season and who had made his Met Opera debut in the previous season, 1959-1960, in the opera company's new production of Wagner's Tristan und Isolde; Saturday, Nov. 14, 2015, 14:42, image of Teo Otto Theater: Michael Kramer (Michael.Kramer), CC BY-SA 3.0 Unported, via Wikimedia Commons

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Dedication

This post is dedicated to the memory of our beloved blue-eyed brother, Charles, who guided the creation of the Met Opera and Astronomy posts on Earth and Space News. We memorialized our brother in "Our Beloved Blue-Eyed Brother, Charles, With Whom We Are Well Pleased," published on Earth and Space News on Thursday, Nov. 18, 2021, an anniversary of our beloved father's death.

Image credits:

Temistocle Solera sourced his Italian-language libretto for Giuseppe Verdi's Old Testament-based Nabucco from Nabuchodonosor, a French-language play written in 1836 by 19th-century French dramatists Auguste Anicet-Bourgeois and Francis Cornu; the play premiered Oct. 17, 1836, at Théâtre de l’Ambigu-Comique (Theatre of the Comic-Ambiguity), Boulevard du Temple, 11th arrondissement of Paris (11e arrondissement de Paris; XIe arrondissement; arrondissement de Popincourt), right bank of the Seine (la rive droite de la Seine), Paris; sketches of costumes for Anicet-Bourgeois and Cornu's play (top row left to right) Babylonian High Priest of Bel, Princess Phenenna, Ismaël, Abygaïl as adoptive princess, High Priest of the Jews Zacharie and (bottom row left to row) Abygaïl en Guerrier (Abigaille as Warrior), Nabuchodonosor, Abygaïl en Reine (Abigaille as Queen), homme du peuple (man of the people), Abygaïl sous le nom de Noemi (Abigaille under the name of Noemi): Public Domain, via BnF (Bibliothèque nationale de France) Gallica @ https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b8406082s/f1.item

In the 1960-1961 season, American maestro Thomas Schippers (March 9, 1930-Dec. 16, 1977) conducted the Metropolitan Opera premiere of Verdi's Nabucco, which numbered as the ninth of 27 operas in his conducting portfolio at the opera company: Napoli Sala Maddaloni, via Facebook Dec. 16, 2018, @ https://www.facebook.com/palazzo.maddaloni/photos/a.1171674029546282/1973091249404552/

Teo Otto Theater in Ramscheid honors Swiss stage designer Teo Otto (Feb. 4, 1904-June 9, 1968), who co-designed German opera director Günther Rennert's production of Nabucco for the Verdian Old Testament-based opera's Metropolitan Opera premiere in the 1960-1961 season and who had made his Met Opera debut in the previous season, 1959-1960, in the opera company's new production of Wagner's Tristan und Isolde; Saturday, Nov. 14, 2015, 14:42, image of Teo Otto Theater: Michael Kramer (Michael.Kramer), CC BY-SA 3.0 Unported, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:RS-Theo-Otto-Theater.jpg

For further information:

Anicet-Bourgeois, (Auguste), et Francis Cornu. Nabuchodonosor, drame d'Anicet-Bourgeois et Francis Cornu: estampes. Paris: Chez Fournier, Rue St Jacques, No 31, à Paris, [1836?].
Available via BnF (Bibliothèque nationale de France) Gallica @ https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b8406082s/f1.item.zoom

Anicet-Bourgeois, (Auguste), et Francis-Cornu, MM. "Nabuchodonosor: Drame En Quatre Actes, Par MM. Anicet-Bourgeois et Francis-Cornu, Décors de Philastre et Cambon, Mise En Scene de M. Granville, Musique de M. Chautagne, Représenté Pour la Première Fois, à Paris, sur le Théatre de l'Ambigu-Comique, 17 octobre 1836." Paris: Imprimerie de Ve Dondey-Dupré, rue Saint-Louis, n°46, au Marais, [1836].
Available via Digitale Sammlungen (MDZ Munich DigitiZation Center for BSB Bayerische Staatsbibliothek) @ https://www.digitale-sammlungen.de/en/view/bsb10056305?page=,1
Available via Digitale Sammlungen (MDZ Munich DigitiZation Center for BSB Bayerische Staatsbibliothek) @ https://www.digitale-sammlungen.de/en/details/bsb10056305

Ascarelli, Alessandra. "Cortesi, Antonio." Treccani > Enciclopedia > Dizionario Biografico Degli Italiani, vol. 29 (1983).
Available via Treccani @ https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/antonio-cortesi_(Dizionario-Biografico)/

"Debut: Anselmo Colzani." MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 184720 Simon Boccanegra {33} Metropolitan Opera House: 04/7/1960. (Debut: Anselmo Colzani Review). Metropolitan Opera House April 7, 1960.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=184720

"Debut: Cornell MacNeil." MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 181530 Rigoletto {390} Metropolitan Opera House: 03/21/1959. (Debut: Cornell MacNeil Review). Metropolitan Opera House March 21, 1959.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=181530

"Debut: Eugenio Fernandi, Yoshio Aoyama, Motohiro Nagasaka." MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 177160 New production Madama Butterfly {356} Metropolitan Opera House: 02/19/1958. (Debut: Eugenio Fernandi, Yoshio Aoyama, Motohiro Nagasaka Review). Metropolitan Opera House February 19, 1958 Benefit sponsored by the Metropolitan Opera Guild for the production funds. New production.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=177160

"Debut: Rosalind Elias." MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 164990 Die Walküre {374} Metropolitan Opera House: 02/23/1954. (Debut: Rosalind Elias Review). Metropolitan Opera House February 23, 1954.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=164990

"Debuts: Birgit Nilsson, Teo Otto." MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 183540 New production Tristan und Isolde {368} Metropolitan Opera House: 12/18/1959. (Debuts: Birgit Nilsson, Teo Otto Review). Metropolitan Opera House December 18, 1959 Benefit sponsored by the Metropolitan Opera Guild for the production funds. New production.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=183540

"Debuts: Bonaldo Giaiotti, Günther Rennert." MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 186000 Metropolitan Opera Premiere Nabucco {1} Metropolitan Opera House: 10/24/1960. (Metropolitan Opera Premiere) (Opening Night {76} Rudolf Bing, General Manager. Debuts: Bonaldo Giaiotti, Günther Rennert Review).
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=186000

"Debuts: Leonie Rysanek, Harold Sternberg, Carl Ebert, Caspar Neher." MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 181040 Metropolitan Opera Premiere Macbeth {1} Metropolitan Opera House: 02/5/1959. (Metropolitan Opera Premiere) (Debuts: Leonie Rysanek, Harold Sternberg, Carl Ebert, Caspar Neher Reviews). Metropolitan Opera House February 5, 1959 Benefit sponsored by the Metropolitan Opera Guild for the production funds. Metropolitan Opera Premiere.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=181040

"Debuts: Mary Ellen Moylan, Oleg Briansky, Margaret Black, Thomas Schippers, Cecil Beaton, Wolfgang Roth." MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 170370 Metropolitan Opera Premiere (Soirée) New production (Don Pasquale) Soirée {1} Don Pasquale {42} Metropolitan Opera House: 12/23/1955. (Debuts: Mary Ellen Moylan, Oleg Briansky, Margaret Black, Thomas Schippers, Cecil Beaton, Wolfgang Roth Review). Metropolitan Opera House December 23, 1955. Met Premiere.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=170370

"Debuts: Mattiwilda Dobbs, Helen Vanni." MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 173090 Rigoletto {375} Metropolitan Opera House: 11/9/1956. (Debuts: Mattiwilda Dobbs, Helen Vanni Review). Metropolitan Opera House November 9, 1956.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=173090

"Debuts: Thomas Powell, Mignon Dunn, Yurek Lazowski." MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 180010 Boris Godunov {144} Metropolitan Opera House: 10/29/1958. (Debuts: Thomas Powell, Mignon Dunn, Yurek Lazowski). Metropolitan Opera House October 29, 1958. In English.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=180010

FORNASETTI. "The US conductor Thomas Schippers chose this city of cards featuring villages and mountains as a folding screen for his bedroom. Piero Fornasetti liked to think that he would fall asleep dreaming about this nocturnal landscape every night after his concerts." Facebook. Oct. 11, 2018.
Available via Facebook @ https://www.facebook.com/FornasettiOfficial/posts/pfbid0mji2Wzx9HBavKjQvPZY8j4j5vxKVcshmzhD64y1wDGmMcc8kWBfZqMGPTaVimjEVl

Jeff @GreenmanOhio. "#LGBTQ History 4. b. Mar. 8, 1930, Thomas Schippers, Portage, MI, conductor of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra (1970-1977), known for his work in opera, debuted at New York City Opera at age 21, incredibly handsome, died at age 47 of lung cancer in 1977." Twitter. March 8, 2023.
Available via Twitter @

Marriner, Derdriu. "Met Opera Calendars 2023-2024 Season Operas Sep. 26 Through June 8." Earth and Space News. Monday, Sep. 18, 2023.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2023/09/met-opera-calendars-2023-2024-season.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "Met Opera Newly Stages Carmen and La Forza del Destino in 2023-2024." Earth and Space News. Monday, Sep. 11, 2023.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2023/09/met-opera-newly-stages-carmen-and-la.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "The Metropolitan Opera Performs 18 Operas in the 2023-2024 Season." Earth and Space News. Monday, Aug. 21, 2023.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2023/08/the-metropolitan-opera-performs-18.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "Metropolitan Opera Revives 12 Productions in 2023-2024 Season." Earth and Space News. Monday, Aug. 28, 2023.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2023/08/metropolitan-opera-revives-12.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "Nabucco Is the Jan. 7, 2017, Metropolitan Opera Saturday Matinee Broadcast." Earth and Space News. Monday, Jan. 2, 2017.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2017/01/nabucco-is-jan-7-2017-metropolitan.html

The Metropolitan Opera. "Happy Richard Tucker Day! . . . . Photo: Richard Tucker with Cornell MacNeil before opening night, 1967. Courtesy of the Metropolitan Opera Archives." Facebook. Timeline photos. Aug. 28, 2017.
Available via Facebook @ https://m.facebook.com/MetOpera/photos/10159365840890533/

The Metropolitan Opera. "Verdi Nabucco." The Metropolitan Opera > On Demand.
Available @ https://www.metopera.org/season/on-demand/opera/?upc=811357011034

"Metropolitan Opera Premiere: Nabucco." MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 186000 Metropolitan Opera Premiere Nabucco {1} Metropolitan Opera House: 10/24/1960. (Metropolitan Opera Premiere) (Opening Night {76} Rudolf Bing, General Manager. Debuts: Bonaldo Giaiotti, Günther Rennert Review).
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=186000

"Metropolitan Opera Premiere: Soirée." MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 170370 Metropolitan Opera Premiere (Soirée) New production (Don Pasquale) Soirée {1} Don Pasquale {42} Metropolitan Opera House: 12/23/1955. (Debuts: Mary Ellen Moylan, Oleg Briansky, Margaret Black, Thomas Schippers, Cecil Beaton, Wolfgang Roth Review). Metropolitan Opera House December 23, 1955. Met Premiere.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=170370

Napoli Sala Maddaloni. "Thomas Schippers (Portage, 9 marzo 1930 – New York, 16 dicembre 1977) è stato un direttore d'orchestra statunitense, attivo soprattutto nel repertorio teatrale. Nato il 9 marzo 1930 nella piccola città di Portage (distante qualche chilometro da Kalamazoo), nel Michigan, Thomas fu il terzo dei quattro figli di Agnes Nanninga e Peter Schippers. All'epoca suo padre possedeva un negozio di elettrodomestici. Tommy sin da piccolo possedeva una bella voce intonata. Cominciò a pren . . . See more." Facebook. Dec. 16, 2018.
Available via Facebook @ https://www.facebook.com/palazzo.maddaloni/photos/a.1171674029546282/1973091249404552/
Available via Facebook @ https://www.facebook.com/palazzo.maddaloni/posts/pfbid0T7cx1rGBYamKmAoYAySBCkrLm8V8Ki7zGUp34Nm8wMGaHxGTDE6Ct3fjjpp1eAKTl

"New Production: Don Pasquale." MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 170370 Metropolitan Opera Premiere (Soirée) New production (Don Pasquale) Soirée {1} Don Pasquale {42} Metropolitan Opera House: 12/23/1955. (Debuts: Mary Ellen Moylan, Oleg Briansky, Margaret Black, Thomas Schippers, Cecil Beaton, Wolfgang Roth Review). Metropolitan Opera House December 23, 1955. Met Premiere.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=170370

Spada, Nancy. Beyond the Handsomeness: A Biography of Thomas Schippers. Irvine CA; Boca Raton FL: Universal Publishers, 2023.

Tichler, Jonathan. "Giant Among Giants." The Metropolitan Opera.
Available @ https://www.metopera.org/user-information/nightly-met-opera-streams/articles/giant-among-giant/

WCPE TheClassicalStation. "On March 9 we observe the birthdays of two American musicians: composer Samuel Barber (1910-1981) and conductor Thomas Schippers (1930-1977). A native of West Chester, Pennsylvania, Samuel Barber attended the Curtis Institute in Philadelphia. Read more about this great musician at https://bit.ly/2HjbSal A native of Kalamazoo, Michigan, Maestro Schippers attended the Curtis Institute and the Julliard School. He made his debut as a conductor with the New York City Opera at the age of 21. He was only 47 years old when he died. Read more about him at https://bit.ly/2SPIduQ Photos: Wikipedia.org." Facebook. March 9, 2019.
Available via Facebook @ https://www.facebook.com/TheClassicalStation/posts/pfbid02yBbWZ2j3FJnXhvTfoS1mnAYVs1rr1wX9u5ezgFv5iduEWVX9yP68ueXJeqw1oJZpl

Nabucco Is the Jan. 7, 2017, Metropolitan Opera Saturday Matinee Broadcast

Summary: The Jan. 7, 2017, Metropolitan Opera Saturday matinee broadcast is Nabucco, a four-act opera set in 6th century Babylon and Jerusalem by Giuseppe Verdi.

The 2016-2017 Met Opera season performances of Verdi's Nabucco mark the fifth revival of Elijah Moshinsky's new staging, which debuted March 8, 2001, at Met Opera: Metropolitan Opera @MetOpera, via Twitter Dec. 12, 2016

Nabucco, a four-act opera by Italian operatist Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi (Oct. 10, 1813-Jan. 27, 1901) concerning a fictional love triangle set in 6th century Babylon and Jerusalem, is the Jan. 7, 2017, Metropolitan Opera Saturday matinee broadcast.

Italian opera composer and librettist Temistocle Solera (Dec. 25, 1815-April 21, 1878) wrote the Italian libretto. The literary sources are the Old Testament books of 2 Chronicles, Daniel, Jeremiah, 2 Kings and Psalms; Nabuchodonosor, a four-act play written in French in 1836 by French dramatists Auguste Anicet-Bourgeois (Dec. 25, 1806-Jan. 13, 1871) and Francis Cornu (Oct. 4, 1794-March 7, 1848); Nabuccodonosor, a ballet adaptation of Anicet-Bourgeois and Cornu’s play by Italian ballet dancer, choreographer and composer Antonio Cortesi (December 1796-April 1879) premiering in 1838 at Teatro Regio (“Royal Theatre”) in Torino, Piedmont, northwestern Italy.

The premiere took place March 9, 1842. The venue was Teatro alla Scala in Milan, Lombardy, northwestern Italy. Milan’s famed opera house premiered Verdi’s first four operas.

Nabucco was Verdi’s third opera. The biblically-themed opera claims the honor of being the composer’s first success.

The Saturday matinee broadcast of Nabucco begins at 1 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (6 p.m. Coordinated Universal Time). The estimated run time for the performance is about 2 hours 44 minutes. The performance, sung in the original Italian, comprises four acts and one intermission.

Acts I and II are timed at 75 minutes. A 35-minute intermission follows Act II.

Acts III and IV are timed at 54 minutes. The Saturday matinee broadcast performance ends with Act IV’s final notes.

Music Director Emeritus James Levine conducts all performances, including the Saturday matinee broadcast, of Nabucco. His birthplace is Cincinnati, Hamilton County, southwestern Ohio. The American conductor debuted in the Metropolitan Opera’s 1971 production of Tosca by Giacomo Antonio Domenico Michele Secondo Maria Puccini (Dec. 22, 1858-Nov. 29, 1924). This season James Levine also conducts Idomeneo by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Jan. 27, 1756-Dec. 5, 1791) and L’Italiana in Algeri by Gioachino Antonio Rossini (Feb. 29, 1792-Nov. 13, 1868).

Plácido Domingo appears in the title role for most December performances and for both January performances, including the Saturday matinee broadcast. He was born in Madrid, central Spain. The globally acclaimed Spanish baritone/tenor debuted at the Metropolitan Opera in 1968 as Maurizio in Adriana Lecouvreur by Francesco Cilea (July 23, 1866-Nov. 20, 1950). Plácido Domingo also appears this season in another baritone role as Giorgio Germont in Verdi’s La Traviata.

Plácido Domingo shares the title role this season with Željko Lučić, who appears in the Dec. 27 and Dec. 30 performances. Born in Zrenjanin, Vojvodina, northern Serbia, Željko Lučić debuted at the Metropolitan Opera in 2006 as Barnaba in La Gioconda by Italian opera composer Amilcare Ponchielli (Aug. 31, 1834-Jan. 16, 1886). The Serbian operatic baritone also appears this season in the title role of Verdi's Rigoletto and as Jochanaan in Salome by Richard Georg Strauss (June 11, 1864-Sept. 8, 1949).

Liudmyla Monastyrska appears as Abigaille, the emotive princess who discovers that she is actually the daughter of Hebrew slaves and not the elder daughter of Babylonian King Nabucco. Liudmyla Monastyrska’s birthplace is Kiev, north central Ukraine. The Ukrainian lirico-spinto (“pushed lyric”) soprano debuted at the Metropolitan Opera in 2012 in the title role of Verdi’s Aida. She also reprises her debut role for the 2016-2017 season’s production of Aida.

Liudmyla Monastyrska appears in most December performances and in both January performances, including the Saturday matinee broadcast, of Nabucco. She shares the role of Abigaille this season with Tatiana Melnychenko. The Russian soprano of Ukrainian descent makes her Metropolitan Opera debut with her Dec. 27 performance.

Jamie Barton appears as Fenena, Babylonian King Nabucco’s real younger daughter who converts to Judaism for love of Ismaele, nephew of the King of Jerusalem. She was born in Rome, Floyd County, northwestern Georgia. The American mezzo-soprano debuted at the Metropolitan Opera in 2009 as the Second Lady in Die Zauberflöte (“The Magic Flute”). This season Jamie Barton also appears as Ježibaba in Rusalka by Czech composer Antonín Leopold Dvořák (Sept. 8, 1841-May 1, 1904).

Jamie Barton appears in most December performances and in both January performances, including the Saturday matinee broadcast, of Nabucco. She shares the role of Fenena this season with Nancy Fabiola Herrera, who appears in the Dec. 27 performance.

Born in Caracas, north central coastal Venezuela, to Canarian parents, Nancy Fabiola Herrera debuted at the Metropolitan Opera in 2015 as Suzuki in Puccini’s Madama Butterfly. The Spanish mezzo-soprano also appears this season as Maddalena in Verdi’s Rigoletto and as Herodias in Richard Strauss’s Salome.

Russell Thomas appears as Ismaele, the King of Jerusalem’s nephew who forms a love triangle with Babylonian Princess Fenena and Abigaille, purportedly King Nabucco’s older daughter but actually the daughter of Hebrew slaves. Born in Miami, Miami-Dade County, southeastern Florida, Russell Thomas debuted at the Metropolitan Opera in 2005 as a Royal Herald in Verdi’s Don Carlo.

The American operatic tenor appears as Ismaele in most December performances and in both January performances, including the Saturday matinee broadcast. Russell Thomas shares the role of Ismaele this season with Adam Diegel. Born in Seoul, northwestern South Korea, to a German American father and a Korean mother, Adam Diegel makes his Metropolitan Opera debut with his Dec. 27 appearance as Ismaele.

Dmitry Belosselskiy appears as Zaccaria, the High Priest of the Jews who curses King Nabucco with divine vengeance and later accepts the broken Babylonian king’s remorseful promise to rebuild the Temple of Jerusalem and to worship the God of the Israelites. He was born in Pavlograd, Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, eastern Ukraine. Dmitry Belosselskiy reprises his 2011 Metropolitan Opera debut role as Zaccaria. The Ukrainian bass also appears this season as Ramfis in Verdi’s Aida.

Operabase, an online database, places Giuseppe Verdi at number one in a ranking of 1,281 most popular composers for the five seasons from 2011/2012 to 2015/16. Nabucco places at 17 in the list of 2,658 most popular operas.

The Metropolitan Opera’s 2016 Repertory Report gives performance statistics through Oct. 31. Nabucco holds place 89, with 57 performances, for the period from first Met performance, Oct. 24, 1960, to last performance, Nov. 17, 2011. The Metropolitan Opera’s 2016-2017 season falls outside the report’s parameters.

The takeaway for Nabucco as the Jan. 7, 2017, Metropolitan Opera Saturday matinee broadcast is the love triangle of Ismaele, nephew of the King of Jerusalem, with his true love, Babylonian Princess Fenena, who converts to Judaism, and with Abigaille, the embittered Babylonian princess who finds peace before dying with her true heritage as the daughter of Hebrew slaves.

Verdi's Nabucco airs as the Jan. 7, 2017, Saturday matinee broadcast during the 2016-2017 Met Opera season: The Metropolitan Opera @MetOpera, via Facebook Dec. 12, 2016

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

The 2016-2017 Met Opera season performances of Verdi's Nabucco mark the fifth revival of Elijah Moshinsky's new staging, which debuted March 8, 2001, at Met Opera: Metropolitan Opera @MetOpera, via Twitter Dec. 12, 2016, @ https://twitter.com/MetOpera/status/808370837531357188

Verdi's Nabucco airs as the Jan. 7, 2017, Saturday matinee broadcast during the 2016-2017 Met Opera season: The Metropolitan Opera @MetOpera, via Facebook Dec. 12, 2016, @ https://www.facebook.com/MetOpera/photos/a.134969600532.229232.20807115532/10158003350470533/

For further information:

Ascarelli, Alessandra. “Cortesi, Antonio.” Dizionario Biografico Degli Italiani. Vol. 29. Rome, Italy: Istituto dell’Enciclopedia Italiana, 1983.
Available @ http://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/antonio-cortesi_%28Dizionario-Biografico%29/

"Composers: Composers Ranked by the Number of Performances of Their Operas Over the Five Seasons 2011/2012 to 2015/16." Operabase > Opera Statistics.
Available @ http://operabase.com/top.cgi?lang=en

Metropolitan Opera. “Live in HD: Nabucco.” YouTube. Dec. 21, 2016.
Available @ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A-C6qHsrFsU

Metropolitan Opera. “Nabucco: Trailer.” YouTube. Dec. 14, 2016.
Available @ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mI-2WxkJ5E8

Metropolitan Opera. “Nabucco: ‘Va, Pensiero.’” YouTube. Dec. 12, 2016.
Available @ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-cpc6netR30

The Metropolitan Opera @MetOpera. "Tune-in Alert! Listen live on our website or SiriusXM Radio at 7:25 PM ET to Verdi's Nabucco starring Placido Domingo in the title role under the baton of James Levine. Liudmyla Monastyrska is Abigaille, Jamie Barton is Fenena, and Dmitri Belosselskiy is the voice of the oppressed Hebrew people. bit.ly/1rqXQeJ Photo by Marty Sohl/Metropolitan Opera." Facebook. Dec. 12, 2016.
Available @ https://www.facebook.com/MetOpera/photos/a.134969600532.229232.20807115532/10158003350470533/

Metropolitan Opera @MetOpera. "Tune-in Alert! Listen live to opening of #Nabucco w @PlacidoDomingo @jbartonmezzo, online & @SIRIUSXM 7:25PM ET!" Twitter. Dec. 12, 2016.
Available @ https://twitter.com/MetOpera/status/808370837531357188

“Performances Statistics Through October 31, 2016.” MetOpera Database > The Metropolitan Opera Archives > Repertory Report.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/Database%20Opera%20Statistics.xml

Sullivan, Jack. “Program Note: Giuseppe Verdi Nabucco.” The Metropolitan Opera > MetOpera Files > Season 2016-17. Jan. 7, 2017.
Available @ http://www.metopera.org/metoperafiles/season/2016-17/operas/nabucco/programs/010717%20Nabucco.pdf

Tarling, Nicholas. Orientalism and the Operatic World. Lanham MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2015.